The Burrows
by Tyler-Z-Crimson
Summary: After being together for almost A year Nick and Judy are travelling to Bunny Burrow to break the news to her parents but not before having an anniversary road trip along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Buzz, Buzz… Buzz, Buzz… The Phone rang on the bedside table, Judy Hopps reached a sleepy paw over to pick it up. "My Parents." She said to herself, followed by a sigh. She answered the muzzle-time call with a single tap of her bunny claw.

"Hey Judy, how's my little bunny cop doing?" Bonnie asked in her usual over the top way.

"I'm good mum. How about you? And what time is it?" Judy said, followed closely by a yawn.

"It's quarter past 10 Judy, have you just woken up?" Her mothers voice had turned to the one she reserved for misbehaving kits. Judy nodded and wiped the sleep out of her eyes with the back of her paw.

"Where are you anyway? That doesn't look like your apartment." Bonnie asked. 'Shit' Judy thought to herself, she had stayed at Nicks and he was fast asleep in the bed behind her just out of view of the camera, his tail was draped over Judy's legs. She did everything she could to keep him out of shot, praying that her mother hadn't seen the fox, whose bed she was in.

"I stayed at a friend's place, we went for dinner last night." Judy blushed and she felt her ears burning with embarrassment.

"Who is it? Is it a 'special' friend?" Bonnie asked, raising her eyebrows. Judy blushed even more and had to look away from the phone, but before she could think of anything to say, her mother clapped her paws excitedly on the other end of the phone, her ears pricking right up.

"Stu! Judy's got herself a boyfriend." She shouted excitedly. Judy turned her head to make sure she hadn't woken Nick, Luckily, he was still asleep, gently snoring.

"He had better be a good bunny." Stu said from out of shot.

"Oh Stu." Bonnie waved a paw dismissively in his direction.

Nick rolled over in his sleep, his tail swished up between Judy and the camera on the phone. Judy froze, and her mother's face dropped.

"What… was… that?" Bonnie said, Judy couldn't tell if she was scared, angry or worried, but she tried her best to save the situation.

"Oh, it was just the covers." Judy said, followed by a giggle and an awkward smile.

"I thought it was a fox's tail for a moment there." Her mother said through laughter. "You should have seen your fathers face. Ha. It was a picture." Judy just laughed nervously.

"Would that be so bad?" Judy asked squinting as she waited for an answer.

Bonnie stared in stunned silence before flatly saying. "Was it?"

"Oh, no, no." Judy said regretting asking immediately.

"Then, no, it wouldn't be that bad." Bonnie smiled. But Judy knew that was a complete lie

"Anyway Judy, your father and I want you to come visit us, we are having a bit of a reunion at the burrow. You can bring your 'friend' if you want?"

"Oh, I don't know mum, he isn't exactly the family type." Judy said, awkwardly flattening one ear with her free paw.

Stu stuck his head into shot. "Oh come on Jude the dude, I want to meet the mammal that's been looking after my daughter for me."

Nick was starting to wake up and went to stretch his arms up, but Judy slammed them back down to his sides before her parents could see him. Judy shot him a look that put fear in his heart, It was her way of saying, move and I'll kill you. He could read her like a book.

"Ok, Ok I'll ask him when I get up, he is probably making breakfast." She smiled at her parents, both of them excitedly smiling back at her.

"That's great chicken, we are having everyone round next Friday so come on Thursday to introduce us." Bonnie could hardly contain herself at this point.

"I will, ok, bye guys." Judy said waving at them.

"Bye Jude, see you soon." They said in stereo. Judy hung up the phone and flopped back onto Nicks chest, she scraped her paws through her head fur and let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Did you catch any of that?" Judy asked.

"You want me to come to bunny burrow with you next week?"

"Would you?"

"I would love too, but do your parents know that their daughter is dating a big red love machine of a fox." Nick winked at her and growled playfully. Judy snuggled into his chest fur, she felt so at ease when they were this close, her paw brushed over the scar on the right-paw side of his chest. That small scar on Nicks chest caused a rush of emotions in Judy every time she saw it, felt it or even thought about it. Nick had taken a bullet for her almost exactly 12 months ago. They were out on a drug raid and one of the offenders had a small handgun, Nick spotted the mammal and threw himself around Judy taking a bullet as they hit the ground, but it didn't just bring back sad memories, no. that was the first time Nick had told her he loved her. Nick lay in Judy's arms in the hallway of the house. Blood flowing from his bullet wound and his consciousness fading quickly. "Judy… Don't leave me" nick whispered through staggered breaths. "I, I Love you." He managed to eek out before slipping into unconsciousness. She couldn't move, she thought he was dying, the last moments they would spend together, and their relationship hadn't even begun. "I love you too Nick. Since we first met, why didn't I tell you." She whimpered, the rest of the team flying around them arresting the offenders. Judy hadn't left Nicks side while he was in hospital and she still spent every possible moment with him now.

A tear rolled down Judy's cheek only for Nick to wipe it away. "That's all over now Carrots." He said softly. She realised that her paw had stopped on the scar, her mind going back to that day in Sahara Square.

"Sorry, I Just don't know what I'd do without you." She sobbed gently.

"Hey, hey, come on now, we've got a busy day. I'll make breakfast, you get the table set." Nick said, hugging her tightly. "I'll make waaaffllleess." A smile came to Judy's face and she laughed a little, he knew exactly how to cheer her up.


	2. Chapter 2

Judy pulled her and Nick's cruiser through the gates into the ZPD compound, the wind ruffled the fur on Nicks arm and the red-orange glow of the sunset highlighted the contours of his face.  
Nick sniffed at the air gently before turning to Judy and looking at her over the top of his glasses with his signature smirk plastered on his muzzle.

"I can't help it, look at you." Judy said throwing her head back against the head rest in frustration.

"I didn't say a word Carrots." Nick said innocently but with mischief written all over his face. He looked away and stared out of the window for a moment.  
"Hey Carrots, I've been thinking about next week." He said tentatively. Judy's heart sank, her first thought was that Nick had changed his mind about going with her to the burrows and it must have shown on her face because when Nick turned back to look at her after a moment too much silence, he smiled genuinely at her.

"Don't worry nothing bad." He said quickly.  
"I was going to say… How do you fancy taking the whole week off and making a vacation out of it?" Nick dropped one ear and pulled his 'cute' face in an effort to convince Judy to take some time off. She never took time off unless absolutely necessary.

"A whole week in bunny burrow, I think we would both go insane." Judy sounded shocked, but she hadn't ruled out the time off just yet.

Nick chuckled a little.  
"I was thinking more along the lines of you, me and mother Wilde's old bus. She did say we could borrow it whenever we wanted, and I think a little summer road trip would do us both good." Nicks eyes went wide at the thought of getting away with his bunny, no work, no nosy neighbours commenting on everything they said or… did, no unexpected mother fox walking in on them in a rather compromising position.

That's how Nicks mother had found out about the pair almost 6 months ago.  
It happened in Nicks apartment, they were supposed to be working but had taken a 'break', Nicks flirting and Judy's uncontrollable lust for him had gotten slightly out of hand.

Nick was flat on his back on the bed with nothing but his uniform shirt hanging from his arms and his tie loose around his neck, Judy straddled his waist her tail gently twitching at every movement and every tender touch of his paws.  
She locked her fingers with Nicks and thrust both paws above his head bringing her muzzle to his, bringing a low possessive yet loving growl from him which sent a shiver running down her spine.

Judy's ears snapped back at the sound of a key in the door, they quickly tried to untangle themselves but it was too late, Mrs Wilde walked into the bedroom and was met with Judy lying bare furred and face down on her son's bed, with Nick crouched on all fours behind her his tail flicking sensually in the air.  
"You'll ruin that bunny." Was all that Mrs Wilde had said as she closed the door and went to the living room.

Not a word had been spoken about what Nick now referred to as 'the incident' since then and he hoped it would stay that way.

"Nick!" Judy punched him in the arm.

"Huh?" Nick quickly realised that he had been daydreaming about his bunny… again.  
"Sorry fluff I couldn't stop thinking about this gorgeous doe that's been on my mind." Nick said sarcastically.

"Har, Har." Judy said, throwing her head and ears form side to side.  
"Well?" she added.

"Well what?"

"Ugh, you really didn't hear a thing did you? I hope that female you keep obsessing over is pretty amazing." Judy said, playing with the end of her ear.

"She sure is Carrots." Nick smiled, Judy just rolled her eyes at him.

"What I was saying while you were mentally undressing me, was that that sounds amazing, but will Bogo give us both a full week off?" Judy said putting her best pretend angry face on.

"First of all, you were doing just fine undressing yourself." Nick said with a cheeky grin and a wink in Judy's direction.  
"And Buffalo Butt in there owes me a favour, I'll speak to him when we get in."

"Ok Slick." Judy said affectionately as she turned the cruiser off and went to get out.

"Hey Judy." Nick called sheepishly.

"Wha…" Judy turned around to face Nick, her muzzle met his over the centre console and her ears flopped back as she melted into the unexpected kiss, the touch of his paw on her Neck making her want him even more.

"You sly fox." She said, arousal heavy in her voice. She placed her paws on the bridge of his muzzle and gently pushed down so that his forehead met hers, getting lost in his emerald eyes staring lovingly back at her she uttered Nicks favourite words.  
"I love you Nicky."

"I love you too… Judy." After a couple of seconds, which could have lasted forever Judy moved away from her fox.

"Speak to Bogo I'll take care of this paperwork. Then, how about we go 'workout'." Judy winked and went to kiss nick again only to pull away before her muzzle met his.

"You say I'm the sly one." Nick said passion burning in his eyes and his tail wagging behind him when he watched Judy strut out of the car park and into the station exaggerating the sway in her hips and making her tail flick with every step.  
"That bunny's going to be the death of me." he groaned to himself.

* * *

"Ahem." Nick was leaning against the door frame to their shared office with a stupid grin on his face.

"About time, where've you been?" Judy said, spinning her chair around and putting her paws on her hips, Nick couldn't quite make out if she was being serious or not.

"I've been talking to Bogo." Nick said smugly.

"And..." Judy gestured for him to continue.

"And… he said we can have next week off." Nick's grin turned to a look of pure mischief.

"But?" Judy asked. "I know that face Nick there's always a but when you look like that."  
Nick put his paw to his chest and gasped dramatically.

"You've got me all wrong Miss Hopps."

Judy raised one eyebrow and cocked her head slightly.

"Okay, okay, he said we could have next week off with pay." Judy's ears shot up with excitement only for it to be quashed by Nick pointing a finger up to stop her.  
"But…" he continued. "We have to take the rest of this week off as well."

Judy let out a little squeak before launching herself at Nick, almost knocking him over but his arms still instinctively wrapped around.  
"I need to pack, I need a new bag, oh I need to get my purse." Judy said in about 1 second flat.

Nick laughed. "calm down Fluff, we can do all that tomorrow. I'll take you shopping in the morning then we can go and pack." Nick chuckled at the bunny that was practically bouncing in his arms.

"Ok, I'll finish up this report then you're taking me home Foxy." Judy flicked Nicks nose playfully before hopping back to her chair, only for Nick to grab her from behind and nibble at her neck.

"Nick!" Judy squealed

"Nobody flicks my nose and doesn't pay for it." Nick growled suggestively.

"N-Nick, hu, stop it." Judy moaned finding the sensation surprisingly pleasurable. but he didn't stop, instead he nuzzled her neck, a low thrum of a growl coming from his muzzle.  
"Nicholas, we are at work." Judy said trying her best to sound serious.

finally she managed to wriggle free of her fox's embrace and get back to her paperwork. "I'm watching you Wilde." she said scowling at him.

"staring right back Hun-Bun."

"What has gotten into you." Judy said with a little giggle. Nick wasn't shy when it came to showing affection towards her but he normally kept it under wraps at work, more in fear of Clawhouser snapping a picture than anything else.  
He didn't bother answering her question figuring she wouldn't appreciate hearing the truth at work so he just shrugged his shoulders and slumped in the chair next to hers.

* * *

"you gonna be long Carrots?" Nick looked at his watch not taking in what time it was.

"Nope, done." She chirped and flicked the button on her mouse sending the report off to whoever checked them over.  
"let's get out of here before the chief realises we have a spare millisecond and gives us a triple homicide to go through." Nick grumbled, knowing full well that if they hung around, they would inevitable get given something else to do that would end up taking hours.

"OK grumpy, let's go."

"I'm not grumpy." Nick grumbled, pouting slightly.

"Tell your face that then." Judy hopped out of the office, but nick stood on the back of her heel causing her to stumble slightly. earning him another of her famous 'bunny slugs' as Nick called them.

The drive home from the station was a quiet one, the pair only exchanging conversation about the plans for tomorrow morning, where Judy wanted to go shopping and other similar topics. The couple were now sat on Nicks sofa, well Nick was sat on the sofa. Judy was laid out with her hind paws in his lap getting the stresses of the day massaged out of them.

"I can't wait for this trip Nick, where are we gonna go?" Judy asked slowly, she was complete relaxed, laying on her mate's sofa, with said fox tenderly rubbing her paws. she just lay there and melted into the moment.

"I'm not sure, I have a couple of places in mind, but we will see where we end up." Nick said after a minutes thought. It took Judy a moment to cotton on to what he was talking about, his foot rub almost sending her to sleep.

A few questions you had from the last chapter.

Q: Why did Bonnie call Judy chicken?  
A: It is simply a term of endearment, like sweetheart or darling.

Q: How could Judy have never mentioned Nick before?  
A: She has, but only as a friend, her parents have no idea that they have been dating.

And yes, I am very British, that will probably come across in how the characters speak... sorry XD


	3. Chapter 3

Only on rare occasions was Judy able to enjoy the city this early on a Wednesday without the weight of her vest and equipment belt. Nick was pleased to be off work but to say he was enjoying his morning would be a complete exaggeration, he hated shopping, the crowds, the bright lights of the stores and the looks he got from the shop keepers probably because he was a fox all made him uncomfortable. He couldn't care less what they thought of him, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before one of them said something or threw him out of the store.

"Nick could you reach this this for me. "Judy huffed, she hated asking for help but without climbing up the shelves there was little else she could do when things were out of reach.

"Sure fluff, which one?" Nick said kindly, he would have to use this to wind her up later, there were too many mammals in the store, and he didn't want to bring any more attention to them than they were already getting.

"I want the blue one please." Judy said raising onto her tiptoes and pointing at the duffle bag on the top shelf.

"how am I supposed to reach that, I'm not a giraffe." Nick chuckled. Judy sighed, tapping her hind paw in frustration. Why did this city seem to be so against the unusual pair? everything seemed to be made for larger mammals. bunnies were supposed to be in the countryside farming and foxes were supposed to be scurrying around in the shadows not making themselves seen or heard and it seemed everything in the city supported this ludicrous idea.

"Hold on, I'll be right back." Nick said before he sauntered off towards the register with his head held high and his tail gently wagging. 'got to make a good first impression' he thought to himself.

"excuse me sir." He said to the sheep behind the register.

"ugh yes?" the sheep groaned.

"I was wondering if you could help me and my friend over there get something from the top shelf?" Nick gestured to where Judy was standing. She was staring up at the bag she wanted trying to make out the price on the tag hanging from it.

"You? You can't afford that. Do you even know how much those things are?" The sheep baaed with a cautious look on his face, he obviously shared the same views as 90% of society, that a fox was nothing more than a lowlife.

"No, I don't know how much it is, but I would like to buy it for my friend." Nick said calmly, cocking his head slightly and raising an eyebrow.

"Sir." The sheep said sarcastically. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, we don't like your kind around here."

Judy's ears perked up, anger surging through her body, she bounded over to the cash register and hopped onto the desk.

"Listen here you cardigan, I want that bag, and if I here you talking to anybody like that again, you'll regret the day you learned to talk." she said through gritted teeth, her ears bright red with anger.

The sheep's face was a picture, Judy's face was well known in Zootopia and so was her reputation of being ruthless when it came to speciesism, not to mention her ability to take fully grown elephants down.

"S-S-Sorry officer, I-I Right away." The sheep scurried out from behind the register grabbing a small set of steps on his way. He climbed up and handed Judy the bag she had her heart set on.

"thank-you ever so much." She sneered as she took the bag from the sheep's hooves.

Her heart sank a little when she turned the price tag over, her ears flopping against her back. $150 for a bag, she just couldn't justify spending that.

"what's the matter fluff?" Nick asked.

"I can't afford that." She whispered.

"Hey, don't worry about that." Nick smiled, he would surely get a scolding for treating her so much, but it would work out in his favour in the end. "I'll get it for you."

Judy tried to object but he cut her off. "You wouldn't want to prove that 'cardigan', right would you?" He took the bag from her and padded over to the register with Judy trailing behind him.

"hello again." Nick chirped as he put the bag in front of the shop keeper.

"I'll put this back then." The sheep groaned, picking up the bag and turning to crab the steps again.

"wait right there." Nick took his wallet out and slammed 15 $10 bills down on the counter. "I want a receipt." He hissed.

The sheep gave a distrustful look to the fox and proceeded to check every single note making sure they were all legitimate.

* * *

It had taken almost an hour from them walking into the store to actually walking out with what they wanted. Judy was at the end of her thread. She was happy with her latest gift from her fox but the way the shop keeper had treated him had really bothered her.

"Nick?" she cooed. He looked round to her and squeezed her paw.

"How do you keep so calm when mammals treat you like that." The couple had stopped in the middle of the pedestrianised shopping street.

"Because I've had it my whole life, I don't care what people think of me anymore." Nick crouched in front of his bunny and placed a tender paw on the side of her head making her look into his eyes. "as long as I've got you and you're happy, nobody else matters." He smiled at his partner, the hint of a tear in the corner of her eye. "you bunnies, so emotional."

"How about we go for something to eat?" Nick asked.

Judy nodded, "That sounds great."

"where would you like to go?"

"I don't know, Just somewhere quick. I still need to pack and then we need to go for your mom's bus." Judy hopped a little with excitement. She had hardly slept last night, the excitement of going on a road trip with Nick had kept her up and in turn she had kept him up, but he hadn't complained. Nick was just happy to see her getting excited for something that wasn't work related and judging by the touchy-feely mood he had been in all night he hadn't planned for much sleep anyway.

"Should we just go to the drive thru on the way home then?" Nick suggested as he stood back up to walk on.

"yeah sounds good to me."

* * *

Back home in Judy's apartment they had just finished their meals and Judy was packing her things while Nick thought of an excuse to get out. He had one last thing to get before they set off and he couldn't tell Judy about it… not yet anyway.

"Hey Carrots, do you need a hand?" Nick asked as he was finishing washing the dishes.

"No, you'll only mess it up anyway." Judy said with a little too much sass for Nicks liking.

"Hey, I'm only trying to help." He shot back.

Judy sighed, "I know, I'm sorry, I just hate packing. Have you packed your things yet?"

"Yeah I just need to pick them up from my place." Nick dried his paws and walked over kissing Judy between her ears. "I can go get it now if you want some space?" He said softly.

"do you not mind? I don't want to push you out." Judy said rubbing her paws together nervously.

"Not at all fluff, I'll pick the bus up while I'm out." Nick said.

"Thanks Nick." Judy turned and give Nick a quick goodbye hug.

"I won't be long." He pecked her between the ears again before leaving.

'that was easy' Nick thought as he walked down the corridor away from Judy's apartment. Now all he had to do was get the bus and get downtown before the store closed, it was still early but the place he needed to go closed at 14:30 today.

* * *

Nick pulled up to his destination in the bright orange VW bus that belonged to his mother. To his relief she had been out when he turned up, he had just taken the bus and left a note saying that he was sorry he missed her and that he would call later. If she had been in there was no doubt that he would have been too late to get what he needed.

The bus was from the early 70's and had chrome trim around the windows, Nick had spent the last few months putting a new interior in to replace the old tattered one, he had found another bus for sale that was a complete wreck mechanically, but the inside was like new, so he took what he could and put it in his. he had even managed to squeeze a small shower room and toilet in the back.

Nick Jumped out of the bus and headed towards the small inconspicuous shop, it was sandwiched between 2 huge department stores and looked completely out of place here, the small brick building had obviously been there long before the glass and steel ones to either side of it but despite its appearance the shop had a reputation for being at the top of its field.

"Ah, Mr Wilde, good to see you again." Said the owner, an old beaver named Francis Wood. His fur was starting to silver on his muzzle and tail, and he used a stick to help him get around.

"Mr Wood, I wasn't sure I was going to make it." Nick said as the door closed behind him.

"I assume you're here for the pick-up." The beaver said over his half-moon glasses.

"Yes, yes I am." Nick smiled, glancing over his shoulder.

"I have it in the back, I won't be a moment." The beaver walked to the back of the shop and pulled a small box out of his drawers. On his way back into the shopfront he grabbed a small piece of fibre-less cloth.

"I'll just show you to confirm it's what you ordered." Francis laid the cloth on his desk and flipped the box open before presenting it to nick.

Nicks heart began to race as soon as he saw it, how was he going to keep this from Judy? how many lies would he have to tell to keep her off his tail? but it would all be worth it in the end… as long as things went to plan.

"Is everything as you expected Mr Wilde." Francis enquired cautiously.

"Oh. Y-Yes everything's perfect." Nick smiled at the beaver and took the box, snapping it shut he shoved it into his jacket pocket.

"Very well, that will be two thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight dollars." The words came like it was an everyday occurrence for mammals to hand over such a vast amount of cash.

"how will you be paying?" Francis asked.

"Cash." Nick announced as he grabbed a wad of cash from the inside pocket of his jacket.

"not that I don't trust you, but I'll just have to…" Francis trailed off.

"I understand." Nick said handing the wad over.

After a couple of minutes of counting what seemed like an endless amount of bills Nick had finally managed to get back to the bus. He took the box out of his pocket and hid it under some sheets in the under-seat storage under the dining chairs. He climbed over into the driver's seat and turned the key, silently praying that the old thing turned on. He didn't quite understand why though. The bus had never given him any trouble, but for some reason he always doubted that it would start. When it purred into life he gave a small sigh of relief and set off for Judy's apartment.

* * *

Judy was sat waiting in the lobby of her apartment building when Nick pulled up outside. She hopped out of the building and jumped straight in beside him giving him a peck on the side of his muzzle.

"Took your time." She said happily.

"yeah traffic was a nightmare getting out of the nocturnal district." Nick said, his right ear twitching twice like it did when he lied or was nervous. Thankfully Judy hadn't clocked onto this tell that had lost him many a poker games over the years.

"Where are we going anyway?" Judy asked as she threw her bag over into the back of the bus.

"I've got a place in mind for our first night. It's in the middle of nowhere, but I think you'll like it." A smirk coming to Nicks face as he remembered the first time his mother had taken him down to the little secluded spot about 10 miles north of Zootopia. It wouldn't take them long to get there, but they could set up the awning and sit outside if the weather held up, maybe do a little fishing in the small river that ran by there.

"I'm sure I will slick, let's get going."


	4. Chapter 4

It had taken almost an hour and a half to drive across the city from Judy's apartment on the border of Downtown and Savanah Central to where they were now, just crossing the climate wall out of Tundra town and out of the city. The highway that they were on went north all the way to Catada. They wouldn't be going that far, in-fact they would be taking the first exit which Nick had just spotted a sign for.

"only another 8 miles till we turn off Carrots." Nick said pointing at the overhead sign they were approaching.

"Furston west? Never heard of it." She replied after a quick glance up from her phone.

"You alright Carrots?" Nick asked, Judy never normally played on her phone for long, she said it 'prevented you from observing your surroundings' or something. Nick had learned to just switch off from her lectures about him constantly scrolling through Furbook or Pawstergram, but she did have a point and he was trying to use it less.

"Yeah, I'm ok, my parents keep texting me. "how's the trip going? how things are with your boyfriend?'" Judy gestured wildly.

Her phone dinged again. "and now they've just asked if we can go a day early. Ugh my life's not my own." She dropped her head into her paws.

"Hey fluff, just tell them you'll call them in the morning or something. And we can go a day early if you want to." Nick scratched behind her ear and gave her a weak smile.

"are you sure? We'd have to cut our trip short." Judy said, peeking round from behind her ears.

"Yeah fluff, its ok I'll just have to figure out a new route." Nick paused for a moment. "Have you told them who your 'boyfriend' is?" Nick exaggerated the word.

Judy fidgeted a little and avoided all eye contact. "Nooooo, not exactly."

Nick tried to say something, but she cut him off her mouth moving at the speed of sound. "I tried but I couldn't, I think they'll take it better in person, I know you want them to know but…" The gentle touch of a paw on her cheek shut her up.

"It's ok, I understand. If my Mum hadn't found out the way she did. which wasn't exactly how I planned…" Nick flinched slightly at the awkward memory.

"You don't say." Judy put in with a little giggle.

Nick glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. "...I would have struggled to tell her as well, I know she took it well but it's a big thing, I mean rabbits and foxes are supposed to avoid each other at all costs but look at us two, we couldn't be much closer if we tried."

Judy shuffled over on the bench seat and pushed her head under his elbow and popped out looking up at him.

"Not now we couldn't."

"Erm Carrots… Driving…"

* * *

You would think bouncing down what could only be described as a farm track to the spot Nick had planned to spend the night would be enough to wake a bunny, but no. Judy was still asleep, softly purring away all snuggled up to Nick's side. Driving the last few miles with a sleeping rabbit lying on him had proven to be a challenge but he had managed it and only woke her once when he was taking a sharp left turn and accidentally elbowed her in the nose. That hadn't gone down to well, but luckily for him Judy didn't fully wake up and was soon back to the cute little ball of grey fur she had been moments before.

"Hey Judy, we're here." Nick said softly. gently shaking Judy's arm with his paw. She blinked herself into the waking world and smiled happily when she felt the weight of Nicks arm still around her.

"here already?" She groaned as she stretched her entire body causing the most adorable little squeak that Nick had ever heard to come from her.

"you've been out of it for at least 15 minutes." Nick chuckled, Judy always made him laugh with how long it took for her brain to switch back on after a nap.

Judy sat up on the front seat of the bus and looked out of the windows taking in their surroundings.

"Wow Nick… it really is beautiful here." she said as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

Nick had parked the bus on a gravel turning circle at the bottom of a farm track. There was a small river, almost a stream running along the other side of the circle with a low wooden footbridge over it. beyond that was a vast wheat field, the golden straws glistening in the evening sun. It was possibly the most peaceful place Judy had ever seen, more so than anywhere in bunny burrow.

Nick put his arm back around Judy's shoulder and stared longingly at her. "It is now." He whispered into her ear. The heat from his breath so close sent a shiver down her that was almost visible. She turned her head and her purple eyes met his deep green ones.

"You're so cheesy aren't you Mr Fox." She teased him but placed a paw on the base of his muzzle and gently stoked it with her thumb. Nick pushed into her paw slightly, purring softly at her touch.

"You wouldn't have me any other way Carrots."

"would I have you any other way?" Judy pretended to think for a moment. "No, No I would not. "

Nick sniggered to himself and shook his head "Come on Fluff, we need to set up for the night."

"Can't that wait?" Judy's mood had changed in an instant she had gone from being tired and a little soppy to being full of lust for her fox. She swung her leg over him and raised up onto her knees, so her head was just above his. Nicks paws instantly jumped up to her hips to steady her there.

"The campsite can wait and I'm sure you need to 'unwind' after the drive here." She said suggestively. Before Nick could say anything, she pushed herself into him and took his lips with hers, her tail twitching when Nicks paw left her hip and found it. Judy wrapped a paw around the back of Nicks head holding his muzzle to hers as she deepened the kiss further while her other paw fumbled with his shirt. Nicks ear twitched at the distinct pop of a button, If the grin on Judy's face when he opened his eyes wasn't proof enough, the touch of her soft paw was. 'there's no going back now' Nick thought, he let out a low rumbling growl at the intense yet amazing sensation and let Judy have her way, not that he would have protested much anyway.

* * *

After an eventful hour or so in the front seat of their camper Judy had gone to the bodged shower Nick had installed whilst he pulled out the awning and started a small campfire for them to sit around. When he was getting the deck chairs out of the bus, he came across his grandfather's old acoustic guitar. he placed it on the dining table not wanting to use it just in-case it got damaged. It held to many good memories, but after a while of sitting waiting for Judy to join him, he couldn't help but pick it up and after a quick tune up with the help of an app on his phone it sounded good, not perfect but it was as close to being properly tuned as he was going to get it. The lessons Nick's grandfather had given him had stuck with him and he owned an electric guitar which he played when he was bored but he was no Jimi Hendfox.

He carried the guitar over to the bridge and sat with his feet dangling over the edge just above the water. He would have played it in his chair beside the bus, but he had never played in-front of anybody not even his bunny, and besides the fire he had started made it a bit hot for his liking. He picked the strings in turn with a claw and smiled to himself at the familiar sound the old guitar made. Nicks go-to genre was, of course rock or metal but more recently he had taught himself a few pop and indie songs which was down to Judy's influence rubbing off on him.

After strumming out a few open chords he started playing one of the songs he was learning. 'dead in the water by Mole Gallagher'. It was one of Judy's favourites and with the amount of times he had heard it he had managed to pick out the chords, strumming pattern and most of the words but putting it all together was another matter. Nick strummed the simple intro to the song, a single drawn out Em chord before starting on the first verse.

Judy was stood in the shower, letting the water wash over her fur as she got lost in her thoughts. Most of them about her fox, she was quickly pulled out of these thoughts by the sound of music coming from somewhere. She assumed that Nick had put one of his old CD's on, probably some rock band from the 70's or 80's but she recognised the song even though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She rinsed the last of the soap out of her fur and hopped out of the shower. Grabbing the towel Nick had left for her earlier she quickly dried herself and threw on some short pyjama bottoms and matching top, they were her favourites because it had a cartoon picture of a red fox on the front with 'feeling foxy' written underneath. Nick had got them for her birthday last year as a joke present, but she had only taken them off to wash and for work. He would always comment on how they only barely covered her 'bouncy bunny bum' but she knew he loved them.

Walking out of the shower room still slightly damp, Judy had worked out what song was playing and figured that it must be a live recording because there was only a guitar and the vocals. That was at least until Nick hit a bum note and cursed at his paws. Judy stood by the open doors of the bright orange bus looking out at Nick sat on the bridge shirtless and with his back to her. She didn't even know he could play never mind sing. Judy watched her fox as he started the song again. Her ears pricking straight up when she heard his voice.

"_on the shore and the night is slipping through my hands  
I fall into the sea like the empire built on the sand  
I've been thinking 'bout the days when we had no money.  
that photograph of you, well it still seems funny.  
Got to get it back to the promised land."_

Judy found herself standing in the centre of the turning circle between the bus and Nick, tears threatening her eyes. Nick turned his attention to his left paw before tipping his head up slightly to look up at the orange sunset in the sky when he flowed into the first chorus.

_"So don't walk away love.  
There's never enough that could make me crash on the broken glass."_

She could hold it back any longer a single tear rolled down her cheek as her heart melted, the emotion that Nick put into every word of the song tearing her apart. she wanted nothing more than to drift away with him and just forget the world, but she couldn't bring her feet to move, she wanted to hear this.

_"Let the storm rage, I'd die on the waves.  
But I will not rest while love lies dead in the water.  
dead in the water.  
In the water.  
dead in the water."_

Judy finally brought herself to move towards her fox, hanging on every syllable that he sung, on every strum of his guitar.

_"I'm waiting for the calm as the storms getting under my skin.  
I'm trying to fix the hole in my head where the rain gets in.  
It's dripping in my ear and it don't sound funny.  
I'm gonna take you out when I get some money.  
We're trying to get it back to the promised land."_

Nick picked up the strumming on his guitar, the sound reverberating through Judy's core just before the second chorus began, a sniff escaped from her nose. But Nick didn't stop like she'd expected him to, instead he turned his head to her and gestured for her to come sit with him by flicking his head. She sat and laid her head on the side of his strumming arm, watching in awe at how delicately his claws moved over the strings.

_"So don't walk away love.  
There's never enough that could make me crash on the broken glass.  
Let the storm rage."_

Nicks voice broke, he couldn't finish the line, but he still kept on strumming. Judy looked up to him her amethyst eyes meeting his emerald ones, she had never seen him look at her like that before. She could almost feel the emotion in his eyes as he stared deeply into her a salty tear running over his fur. Nick faded his strumming out and ended it with a long drawn out Em chord the corner of his mouth turning up into a slight smile.

"H-How long have y-you…" Nick stammered.

"Long enough slick" Judy said without breaking eye contact. She wished that this moment would never end.

"I didn't know you could play?" Judy questioned. Nick placed the guitar down beside him and pulled her into a hug.

"my grandfather taught me on this guitar." He said as he rested his muzzle between her ears. Judy leaned into him a comfortable silence drifting over them as they both watched the last slithers of sunlight disappear beyond the horizon.

"Nick?"

"hmm?"

"Could you teach me something?" Judy said nervously, pointing to the guitar with her forehead. Nicks eyes widened, and a huge grin threatened to split his muzzle.

"I'd love to Carrots, we'll have you selling out stadiums by the time we get home."

Both mammals chuckled to themselves before returning to the star lit snuggle.

* * *

It was getting on for midnight, Nick and Judy were sat in their chairs around the fire which had almost burned down to embers. They had sat there for hours sharing stories and memories about things that they had done in and out of work. Judy had worn Nick down enough for him to play her a couple more songs on his guitar, but he refused to sing.

Judy picked up her bottle which was empty again, they had drank a crate and a half of lager between them and she could definitely feel it.

"Nick, I'm empty." She sounded like a kit pleading with its mother and the pout on her face was made even more adorable by Nicks slight case of beer goggles.

"aww, poor little bunny. "Nick cooed sarcastically "You know where the fridge is."

Judy flipped around so that her head was upside down on the arm of her fold up chair with her ears hanging almost to the ground.

"buuuttt Niiiiccckkk… My legs have fell off." She dragged every word out making her sound even more like a kit. Nick laughed out loud at her.

"I suppose I'd best carry you inside then." He scooped her up before she could register what was going on causing her to scream a little.

"Nicky!" she squeaked. He nuzzled the soft fur at the base of her neck lightly nipping at the spot he knew would get the best reaction out of her. She physically shivered letting him know his aim was dead on.

"You sly fox." Judy moaned. "but my bottles still empty." Judy cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. Nick just huffed a laugh away and shook his head.

"Here, don't say I don't do anything for you." He shoved another bottle into her paw before flopping down onto the VW's bed, sighing with contentment 'what a perfect day' he thought to himself staring at the seat he had hidden the box under, which was now part of the bed after the table had folded down. 'should I have told her tonight?'


	5. Chapter 5

Judy blinked her eyes open and instantly slammed them shut, it felt like the light was burning them out of her head. She eased herself up so she was sat with her elbows on her knees before trying to look around again, but the whole room was spinning.  
"where am I" she said to herself with her head in her paws.

"someone's looking tender." Nick's voice sounded louder than ever before, and her head thumped with every word.

"Don't speak." Judy whispered. Pulling her ears down and scrunching her eyes in an effort to muffle any sound and block out the light.

"your phones been ringing all morning fluff, I think it's your parents you'd better call them back." Nick said. Judy huffed and finally brought herself to look around. Nick was sat in the front of the bus with his feet up on the dashboard filing his claws, the whole place was spotless and from the hazy memories Judy had from last night it wasn't like that when she'd went to bed, or rather collapsed onto a certain fluffy fox.

"How long have you been up?" she asked groggily.

Nick stopped filing and glanced at his watch. "2 hours, since half 8." He said before returning his attention to his claws and paws. Half a second of silence went by before Judy realised what time it was, Bunnies may be good at multiplying but when you've got a banging headache and a hangover from hell, simple addition is a task in itself.

"It's half 10! Why didn't you wake me!" Judy shouted, forgetting about her headache, but quickly remembering when a sharp pain pulsed through her temples causing her to flinch.

"You think I didn't try? You would have slept through an earthquake." Nick chuckled. "And besides, your grumpy when your sleeping and you kick when your grumpy, I'm not risking getting launched through the back window." Nick flopped his head and stared at her with one eyebrow raised.

Judy huffed at him and picked up her phone. 12 missed calls all from her mother. 'oh god what do I say about this' she thought. Judy stood to go outside and call her mother back but caught sight of herself in the mirror, 'oh god what do I say about _this_'.  
She decided it would be better to send a text and call later when she had sorted herself out a bit. There was no such thing as a simple voice call with Bonnie and Stu, they always insisted on a video chat which would have made for an awkward conversation given Judy's mussed up fur and blood shot eyes, not to mention the stray strands of fox fur mixed in with her own, Nick was casting constantly due to the heat and his fur got EVERYWHERE.

* * *

Judy walked from the back of the bus round to the passenger door, she had been in the shower to wash all of Nick's loose fur off and had got herself ready for whatever he had planned for them today. If you ignored her hangover which was still going strong and didn't look like fading for a long time yet, she was back to normal.

"How are you so, so…" Judy started when she hopped onto the seat beside Nick, who was still sat with his feet up.

"So what fluff? Handsome, charming, funny, amazing. The list goes on, but you already know." Nick said sarcastically with a wave of his paw.

"No. how are you so, awake! I feel like death warmed up." Judy scowled.

"tiny bunny, big fox." Was all Nick could say before his eyes met hers staring right through him like daggers. He quickly changed the direction he was taking this in fear for his life if he carried on. "What I mean to say is that due to the size difference between us and your urge to be the best at everything you do, you have, let's say… over indulged." He added his cutest smile to quell any remaining death stares that might come his way. Judy rolled her eyes and sat back in the seat without saying anything, but the slightest hint of a smile tugged at her muzzle letting Nick know he was in the clear.

"So, Carrots, are you ready to move on?" Nick asked before dropping his feet off the dash and flicking his shades down.

"yeah where are we heading today?" she asked without bothering to put any enthusiasm into her voice.

"we are going up into the mountains today fluff, right up…" Nick looked around before pointing up at one of the summits in the distance. "there."

"What's up there?" Judy squinted out of the window trying to see anything of significance on the peak.

"you'll just have to wait and see won't you Miss Fluff." Nick chirped as he started the engine.

* * *

Judy had managed to stay awake for the journey up the mountains, the twisting roads made her feel a bit sick and Nick pretending to be a world rally driver kept her alert. The old VW wasn't designed for speed and they weren't exactly setting land speed records, but the body roll around the corners and the revving from the engine made it feel much faster than it was.

As they came onto a long straight part of the road there was a sign on the right-paw side which read, '_Ennerdale hotel, spa and forest centre. 3 miles'._

"that's our stop Judes, I had planned to go into the forest today, but I think that can wait till tomorrow when you're in a more _adventurous_ mood." Nicks cheeky grin was spread across his face once again.

Judy's face lit up and her ears stood tall.  
"I've always wanted to come here, but I didn't think they had a camp ground?" she asked, her ears drooping slightly at the thought of not being able to stay the night.

"I've noticed… You always go on about this place, and we won't need a campground." Nick flicked his sun visor down, grabbed the paper that he had tucked under it and handed it to Judy. She unfolded the paper and practically jumped with excitement.

"You booked us in?" She shouted happily.

"Sure did Carrots, 2 whole nights in the lake view suite."

"How did you…" Judy started but Nick cut her off.  
"Don't you worry about that just enjoy yourself tonight because tomorrow certainly won't be relaxing." Nick cocked an eyebrow and looked at Judy over his glasses, she was looking at him suspiciously.

"what's happening tomorrow?" she asked cautiously.

"Can't say. that would ruin the surprise." He said smugly.

"Come on slick, you might as well tell me, we both know I have my ways of making you talk." She said suggestively, but Nick knew that Judy's ways of making him talk were rarely enjoyable experiences.

"Yes you do but neither the good way, or the bad way will work this time and besides you only have to wait till tomorrow to find out. You can do that can't you? For me?" Nick flicked his glasses up and looked at her with his puppy dog eyes.

"Fiiine." Judy rolled her eyes. "that's cheating by the way, you know I can't resist that face."

"I know, It's call…"

"Don't" Judy cut him off.

"What?"  
"You know what… fox" She said playfully. Nick gasped and put his paw to his chest. "Miss Hopps how dare you define me by species and how very dare you use said species as an insult. I am deeply ashamed of you." Nick spewed out sarcastically.

"Oh shut up going on." Judy giggled, she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the side of his muzzle. "Now get me in that spa." Judy sat back smiling to herself, she had dreamed of coming to this place with Nick for months but had never been able to justify the cost and time off work. The fact that Nick had noticed her rambling on and remembered just showed how much he cared, the fact that he had probably paid for it with his hustling money didn't seem to matter, at least not for now anyway.

The hotel was an old stone mansion built in a square around a central courtyard. The grounds covered most of the mountain with stunning views down the valley to the lake in the bottom form the landscaped garden at the rear. The forest that stretched out in the other 3 directions seemed to go on forever but was beautiful in its own way. Across the car park form the hotel was a log cabin style building with a glass front and a decked area to the side. This was the visitors centre for the forest where you could buy walking trail maps and hire bikes for the mountain bike trails. Just down the hill from the cabin Judy noticed zip wires strung between trees, and bridges made with rope and planks.

"No way am I going on them." She said to Nick. Judy didn't mind heights it was the fact that she would have to be harnessed in that bothered her. It didn't matter if it was for her own safety of not being restrained was something that set her on edge, the fact that she couldn't free herself panicked her like nothing else.

"you think you'd get me zipping between trees, I almost got kicked out of the academy for freezing on the obstacle course. I was stuck up there for at least 10 minutes."

"I think your claw marks are still up there." Judy laughed remembering the time she had gotten a panicked phone call from her fox going on about how sorry he was and that he had let her down. After she had settled him and he had told her what had happened she couldn't help but laugh at him. Not so much because he had gotten himself stuck or because he was scared of heights, everyone had their fears, right? No, it was because the drill sergeant had had to lift him down and peal him off her arm like Velcro.

* * *

Walking into the hotel reception Judy stopped to take in the vastness of the room, A golden chandelier hung from the double height ceiling, the huge windows bathing the room in natural light and the polished marble floor all lived up to her wildest dreams.

"Judy." Nick called with a genuine smile on his face, he had made it to the reception desk, but she was still gaping at the room.

"Sorry." Judy blushed and scurried over to him, Nick wrapped his arm and tail around her and pulled her into his side.

"Wait till you see the room." He whispered in her ear.

Judy had to fight to stop her foot thumping with anticipation, the only hotels she had stayed in previously had been 'cheap and cheerful' as she called it. Nick however just called them cheap, compared to them this place was in a league of its own.

Once the desk was clear Nick stepped up, only his head poked above it with Judy's ear tips just and so standing above the oak desk.

"good afternoon, welcome to Ennerdale hall, how may I help you." The reception said in a well-rehearsed but friendly manor. She was a small tiger, not much bigger than a wolf but a whole lot more attractive. Her fur was shining, and her stripes were perfectly symmetrical, the red of her fur made her deep blue eyes pop. Nick made a conscious effort not to stare too long, he would never fall for another mammal, but he didn't want to risk a bunny punch in the arm.

"We have a reservation for Wilde." Nick said with a smile. After a moment of typing the tigress found their reservation.

"Ahh yes, your room is ready, but it is set up as a double. I'll get them to change it to a twin while you have dinner."

"A double's fine." Nick wrapped his arm around Judy again and nuzzled the top of her head making her ears redden.

"Oh, well, I see. My apologies Mr Wilde and…"

"Miss Hopps." Judy announced awkwardly.

"Miss Hopps." The receptionist repeated. "your room Is on the second floor, turn left out of the elevator and it's right at the end of the corridor. You have a dinner reservation at 19:30, the restaurant is past the elevators to the left. Enjoy your stay." The tigress handed Nick the key cards and some information in a fancy cardboard holder. With a nod the pair walked off to find their room.

* * *

Nick swiped his key card in the door to their suite and pushed it open. Two steps lead down into the living area, a large fire place was on the wall to the right and 2 huge sandstone windows made up most of the wall opposite the door. The furniture would look old fashioned anywhere else, but it fit with the building perfectly. Judy dropped her bag on one of the sofas and headed over to the window, the view was breath-taking you could see right down the valley to the lake and the mountains beyond. Nick came up behind her and wrapped both arms around her, resting his muzzle between her ears and gently squeezing her.

"Don't you want to see the rest of it?" He said into the soft fur between her ears. Judy spun around in his arms and looked up at him with wide eyes. "There's more?"

"Well yeah, where did you think we were going to sleep?" Nick held on for a moment longer before he swished over to a set of double doors, he swung both open revealing the bedroom. A king size bed dressed in Egyptian cotton sat between 2 solid oak night stands. 2 doors on the wall to the right lead to a walk-in wardrobe that Judy could easily get lost in, and the other to a huge en-suite with his and hers sinks, a double jacuzzi bath and a massage shower in the corner. A set of French doors lead out from the bedroom onto a roof terrace that looked down the valley on one side but was otherwise surrounded by forest. Judy hopped over from the window to take a look, she gasped when she saw the room and instantly leapt onto the bed, flopping onto her back and spreading out to take up as much space as possible.

"Nick, this, is, amazing." Judy patted the bed beside her for Nick to join her. He shook his head.

"No time for laying about fluff." Nick tapped at his watch. "We've only got 2 and a half hours till dinner and if you want to get to the spa, we'd best get a move on."

"your right, but you don't get away from me that easy. I just hope the steam rooms empty." Judy sprung of the bed with a wink and sauntered her way over to her bag.

Nick didn't bother to hide that he was staring when she started to change into her bikini, not that Judy was trying to hide from him, she was making sure he got a full view of her.

"aren't you changing slick?" she asked over her shoulder.  
"Nicholas." Judy chirped when he didn't respond.

"Sorry Carrots, my mind was on fluffier things."

"We'll hurry up or this fluffy thing will just have to go on her own."

"alright, alright i'm coming, can't a fox drool over his bunny once in a while" Nick said as he pulled on his swim shorts.

"Nick… never ever say that again." Judy said holding her paw out for Nick to take.

"What was that you were saying about the steam room?" Nick asked as they walked out of the room paw in paw.

Judy shook her head. "you sir, are a bad fox." She said as the door closed behind them.


	6. Chapter 6

The Spa of the hotel was huge, it had Turkish baths, a sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, plunge pool, massage jets around the edge of the swimming pool and it had a massage parlour which was where Nick and Judy where now. Both of them enjoying a hot stone massage, lying with their muzzles poking through the holes in the massage tables, the scent of essential oils filling the room.

"Nick, did you ever imagine that you would be in a five-star spa having a couple's massage with a rabbit?" Judy asked as the knots were getting worked out of her back.

"Judy, I never imagined I would set foot in a spa full stop, never mind be getting a massage with a fluff-ball like you." Nicks tail started to wave slowly above him wafting the scent of the oil around even more.

"Weren't you a regular at Mystic springs?" Judy asked. Nick had never been more thankful for his red fur in his life, it could hide reddest of cheeks.

"I wouldn't exactly call that a spa Judy." Nick chuckled in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. He winced when the masseuse started working on a particular tender area of his back.

"Get right in there dontcha." He said jokingly. The mammal that was massaging him giggled and eased the pressure slightly, both of the mammals massaging Nick and Judy were red pandas. Nick had a suspicion that they were sisters if not littler mates with how alike they were, but any attempt that Nick or Judy made to start up any form of conversation had been met with one-word answers, they were polite but for one reason or another didn't seem very talkative.

"Hey Judy." Nick said cheekily.

"What." Judy said like she didn't want to hear what was coming next.

"Why did the panda loose at poker?"

Judy groaned, another one of Nicks terrible jokes, and It was about the mammals who were pressing hot stones into their spines.

"Because he was playing a cheetah." Nick burst out laughing.

Judy would have face palmed if she could have and she couldn't help the "Sweet cheese and crackers." That came out, only cracking Nick up even more.

* * *

After the massage Nick and Judy had went to the showers in the spa to wash the oil out of their fur before heading to the pool. Nick was sat in the hot tub waiting for Judy to get back. The spa had its own bar and Judy had gone to get them a drink to sip on while they relaxed in the water. Nick wasn't convinced that that was going to happen though because there was a group of mammals, mostly male rabbits on the other side of the pool and judging by how much noise they were making had had a skin full already.

Judy returned from the bar, pushing the door to the pool room open with her back and spinning around revealing an Ice bucket with a bottle of champagne in and 2 glasses hanging from a rest on the side of the bucket. Nick watched her as she sauntered her way over to him, winking and blowing a kiss when she noticed him staring. Raucous laughter erupted from the other side of the room grabbing both of their attentions. Turns out that It wasn't Just Nick who had noticed Judy's hips swinging in her bathing costume. One of the Rabbits wolf whistled her and shouted something across the room, but neither of them could pick anything intelligible out of it. Nick was visibly annoyed. Not because he was jealous, he trusted Judy completely and knew that she could handle herself but rather because they though it appropriate to behave that way in here, when all they were trying to do was enjoy each other's company and let their guards down for a change. Judy however did the most Judy thing possible, which probably wasn't her brightest move.  
"You couldn't handle it boys." She shouted back at them.

The Buck that had shouted over had received a round of cheers and sarcastic chants from the rest of the group which didn't seem to sit well with him.

Judy slipped into the water beside Nick and set the champagne down on the side behind them.  
"Oh god, why can't we just have an easy life Nick, why do mammals always have to interfere with everything?" Judy asked. The buck had decided that he wasn't going to be shown up and was making his way over.

"It's alright Fluff, we'll scare him off, a little bunny-fox action usually freaks them out enough to send them running." Nick said with a little squeeze of Judy's bum under the water.

"Cheeky." She said batting his arm with her paw.

"Come 'ere." Nick cooed as he pulled Judy into his side and nuzzled the fur on her head, the Buck stopped in his tracks when he saw them, looking flustered he changed course and headed for the bar.

"This is gonna be fun." Nick whispered in Judy's ear. He reached over and grabbed the bottle, "I hope you didn't put this on my tab Miss Hopps."

"Unless I've got my purse shoved in this costume somewhere, I didn't really have much choice." Judy grabbed the glasses from the ice bucket.

"Now fill me up." she held the glasses out for Nick to pour the champagne into.

"I would love to." Nick quickly raised his eyebrows and snapped his teeth in her direction.

"You really are a bad fox aren't you." Judy giggled, she set the glasses back on the edge of the hot tub and swung her leg over him gaining another round of cheers from the bucks on the other side of the room.

Judy rolled her eyes, they landed back on Nicks which were staring right back at her, his deep green gaze was filled with love and passion with a hint of nervousness edging its way in.

"Don't look so worried." Judy whispered, she ran a paw down the side of his face stopping when she reached the side of his muzzle. Nicks eyes closed and Judy pressed her lips to his tenderly, going slightly weak when he kissed her back with just as much tenderness.

the sound of a thumping foot broke the kiss, Nick looked round at the buck who was only about five meters away.

"Can I help you." Nick said, his tone was dripping with sarcasm. The rabbit completely ignored him, he might as well have not existed.

Nick chuckled at the blatant rudeness even though it had been expected.

"I couldn't help notice you when you came in, miss?" The buck said with a bob of his head. He wasn't the most fortunate in the looks department in fact he looked like he had fell out of a tree and hit every branch on the way down, his fur was messy and uneven, his eyes both pointed off in opposite directions and his buck teeth looked like they had had a severe falling out with each other

"Unfortunately, I couldn't help but notice you either, now is there something you want? because if not please leave me and my partner alone." Judy scowled. Nicks tail stiffened at her tone, he had heard her use it once before and was just as thankful then as he was now that it wasn't directed at him.

"This thing is your partner? A fine bunny like yourself can do much better than that. Come and sit with us we will take better care of you than he ever could."

Nicks calm and cool facade was still strong but underneath he was seething, nobody talked to his Carrots like she was a possession to be owned and used.

"What makes you think I can't take care of myself?" Judy asked as she slid off Nick and stood in the hot tub.

"I simply mean that you would be better off with your own kind." That was the straw that broke the camel's back, Judy's ears shot straight out behind her and she was over the side of the hot tub before Nick could do anything to stop her. Her finger was thrust in the buck's face and she was stood as stiff as a board.

"how dare you, I wan't nothing to do with _your kind_." Judy hissed.

"What do you mean by that, we're both bunnies." The buck countered.

"And that's where the similarities end." Judy's paw dropped to her side.

"Come on sweetheart don't be like that, give me a chance, one little date." The Rabbit pleaded. Judy shook her head and scoffed at him, but the Buck reached out to grab her before she could get away. The anger that flashed through Judy's eyes when he touched her sent shivers down Nicks spine. He would get involved but Judy looked like she had this under control, if the buck didn't let go of her arm soon though Nick was likely to scatter bits of rabbit all over the place.

"Get… your… paw… off me… now." Judy said sternly, her eyes locked onto the buck.  
He didn't let go instead he tried to pull her, but she didn't budge.

"I think you need to disappear." Nick said, he had gotten out of the water and was standing behind Judy with his paw on her shoulder.

"Wind your Neck in fox, nobody asked for your opinion."

"And nobody asked for you to fucking breathe so get lost before you stop." Nick couldn't stop his lips from curling up and his teeth flashing. The buck froze with fear, most prey species still had a built-in fear of fangs and rabbits were by far the worst. One exception to that rule was of course Judith Hopps, the sight of Nicks fangs excited her and even now in this situation Nick picked up on the slight scent of her arousal at his low growl and sharp fangs. He would be sure to tease her about it later.

"What appears to be the problem here." An antelope had walked into the Spa, no doubt he had heard the argument.

"This pervert can't seem to take no for an answer Nick said without taking his eyes of the Buck who still hadn't released his grip on Judy, he suddenly came out of his fear induced, statue-like state and dropped Judy's arm. "I-I but h-h-he." He stuttered.

"Sir I think you should leave. That goes for the lot of you." The antelope said to buck and group of mammals by the pool.

The rabbit huffed and stormed out of the pool "I'll be speaking to the manager about this." He shouted back as he crashed through the doors out of the room.

"Mr and Mrs Wilde, I'm so sorry about that, is there anything we can do." The antelope asked with genuine concern.

"Thank you, just make sure that he doesn't bother us again and unfortunately we're not married… yet" Nick said giving Judy a sly wink. She flushed a little, her anger fading at how cute Nick could be.

"Oh I see, my apologies, you won't be seeing him in here again." The antelope scurried away to sort out the problem guests.

Nick crouched down beside Judy and took her paw in his.  
"are you alright Carrots. Did he hurt you." He gave her a lick on the side of her face.

"Nick!" Judy smiled, "Oh it's all sloppy now." She giggled.  
"It's not sloppy It's a magic love lick." He said as he looked over her paw, there were signs of a faint bruise showing under her fur.

"he hurt you." Nick said softly.

"I've had worse." Judy said dismissively.

"I'm sorry Judy, I should have done something sooner, I just wanted to have a nice relaxing evening, and unwind with you, but look what goes and happens." Nick rambledon.

"Hey Slick, it's not your fault. what do you say we go upstairs and sit out on our terrace for a while before dinner?" Judy stroked Nicks muzzle, smiling when he pressed into her touch.

"Sounds great, I love you, you know." Nick said with a hint of a tear in his eye.

"I know you do Nicky, I love you too." Judy replied, she wiped her thumb across Nicks eye.  
"What's brought this on." She cooed.

"I don't know I think your emotional side is rubbing off on me." Nick chuckled to himself, wondering where had the tough fox gone that didn't let anybody in, didn't show any emotion to anybody.

"Come on you big softie, let's go." The pair grabbed their towels and dried their fur as best as they could before wrapping them around themselves and heading up to their suite.

* * *

Nick held the door open for Judy and they headed into the suite. "Hey Carrots look at this." Nick said in surprise. There was a box of chocolates with the hotel's logo on and a bouquet of roses on the side table by one of the windows. There was a hand-written note on the chocolates, Nick scooped it up and read it aloud.

_"Mr Wilde and Miss Hopps,  
please accept this small gift as a way of apology for the incident that happened in the spa, we do not tolerate any form of harassment to our guests and the mammals have been removed from the hotel and grounds.  
If there is anything we can do ask for me at reception.  
Yours sincerely Nigel Eweitson, Hotel manager."_

"That's nice of them." Judy said, her attention was mostly fixed on the chocolates and she was munching on a caramelised hazelnut coated in milk chocolate.

"It is but I'd rather it didn't happen." Nick slumped onto the sofa beside Judy.

"Give me a taste then." Nick pressed his lips to Judy's taking her by surprise. Once her mind realised what was happening, she melted into his kiss and eagerly returned it, a soft moan escaping from her as he deepened it.

"you'll ruin your appetite." Judy said when he pulled back.

"Best get on to the main course then." there was a fire burning in Nick's eyes when he said it, he moved the chocolate box off Judy and was on all fours over her before she could do anything about it.

"I was enjoying them." Judy giggled.

"So was I." Nick kissed her again, no surprise there this time, just need and burning passion


	7. Chapter 7

"Carrots you really are going to be the death of me." Nick's breath was ragged and his whole body felt as though it was throbbing.

Judy mumbled a response, but it was nonsense, her mind still clouded with the musky scent of fox.  
Nick gazed up at her still scrunched up face, her eyes rolled back and twitching slightly.  
"Can you give me one better way to go?" She said through hard breaths.

"Honestly… No, not one." Nick let his head flop back onto the pillow and Judy collapsed onto his chest taking in the scent of his fur and raking her paws through the white of his chest. They would be stuck here for a while. That was one disadvantage of mating with a fox, they had a tendency to get stuck, but Judy didn't mind. She called it their mandatory cuddle period.

"Nicky?" Judy asked. Her eyes still glowing with love and passion for her fox. Nick looked down to her and stroked a paw over her head, flattening her ears to her back. The look on his face almost melted her heart, his eyebrows were slightly lowered making his emerald eyes look even deeper than usual and the corners of his mouth were turned up into a truly happy and content smile.

"I wish we could cuddle like this every night." Judy said with a sigh.

"why don't we?" Nick said quickly, without thinking.

"What do you mean?" Judy asked. She could hear his heart racing in his chest.  
Nick had never been so nervous, not even when he was stood on that stage waiting for Judy to pin his badge to his chest.

"Why don't you move in… officially." His ear twitched nervously but all of that was washed away when Judy grabbed his head and crushed her muzzle to his in a passionate kiss, taking him slightly off guard.

"are you sure, I mean do you really want me too." She squeaked happily after she had pulled away.

"Judy, I've never been more sure of anything in my life." This time it was Nick who initiated their kiss, and this time it was gentle, tender and it took Judy's breath away.

"Oh Nick, this is the best holiday ever."

* * *

The restaurant of the hotel was far above anywhere they had eaten in Zootopia, Nick didn't know that you could get so many different sized knives and forks. The waiter that was serving their table was another red fox, which was a bit of a surprise to Nick. Foxes didn't usually get jobs on the front of house, but this one was very professional and it was nice to see that people were finally starting to accept that not everyone conformed to their species stereotype.

"Sir, madam." The waiter said with a slight bow, he seemed just as shocked to see a fellow fox in the restaurant as Nick was. The waiter placed a menu in front of both of them in turn.

"My name is Fred and I will be looking after you tonight, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. Could I get you some drinks before you order?"

"I'll have a Tequila Sunrise." Judy said. Getting a slightly worried look from her fox across the table.  
The last time she had drank tequila Nick had literally carried her home over his shoulder whilst she belted out her favourite Gazelle songs.

"I'll Just have a pint of your craft lager please." Nick wasn't a fan of fancy drinks, he would have a wine or champagne if the situation called for it, but he was a lager or a whisky fox at heart. The waiter wrote the orders down on his pad and with a nod and a waft of his tail he disappeared to fetch the drinks.

The menu was small, but the food sounded amazing, Nick decided immediately that he was having the scallops for starter and although he knew Judy didn't always agree with him eating game or poultry he was having the roast duck for main course.

"What are you going for Carrots?" He asked.

"I was thinking of getting the asparagus starter and the roast summer vegetables for main. I assume you'll be having something meaty?" she said almost sarcastically but with a smile on her face and a glint in her eye.

"Well I was going to have the scallops and the roast duck, but I can get something else if you want." Nick placed his paw on top of hers that was resting on the table and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"No, it's alright we are on holiday after all."

"Your too good to me Fluff." Nick said, letting go of her paw when he spotted the waiter bringing their drinks over.

"Tequila sunrise." Fred confirmed as he placed it on the table in front of Judy.  
"And a pint of Hooked Claw lager." The fox placed the pint glass down. Nick had never heard of it before but the condensation forming on the glass made it look very appetising.  
"Are you ready to order or would you like a few more minutes?" Fred asked with his pad in paw.

With a look to Judy for confirmation Nick started his order.  
"I'll have the pan-fried scallop starter and the roast duck with dauphinoise potatoes." He said, his primal side making his mouth water at the thought of the duck.

"Could I get the asparagus starter and roast summer vegetable main please." Judy chirped.  
They both closed their menus and handed them to the waiter who tucked them under his arm.

"Thank-you, your food shouldn't be too long we are relatively quiet tonight." Fred said before disappearing again. He wasn't lying about the place being quiet, there were only about 10 other mammals having meals. Judy took a sip of her drink through the bright orange straw that stuck out the top prompting Nick to lift his drink and have a taste. Obviously Judy's was far nicer because the face he pulled when he took the glass away from his muzzle almost had Judy showering him in tequila sunrise.

"Nick!" she chuckled, "you can't do that when I've just took a drink."

"you didn't taste it, it tastes like it's been filtered through Clawhouser's undies."

"Nicholas." Judy growled quietly with a stare that could pierce the thickest ZPD armour.

"What? Here try it." Nick slid his delightful beverage over to Judy and she took a cautious sip.

"Oh god." She coughed. "That's awful." Her nose turned up at the deceptive liquid, it looked so refreshing but tasted so… blehhh.

"Told you, didn't I." Nick said smugly.

"HEY! That's mine." Judy said half seriously

Nick shrugged and took another sip of her cocktail.  
"It's called a hustle sweetheart." He grinned to himself and called the waiter over.

"Yes sir how can I help?" the waiter was over in seconds.

"Could I get another one of these please?" Nick asked, gesturing to the glass in his hand.

"Certainly sir, right away." The fox disappeared once again to fetch another drink.

* * *

The food had been amazing, and Nick and Judy had had a wonderful night of just enjoying each other's company without any mammals staring or making sly remarks, either at how disgusting their relationship was or simply because Nick was a fox. The main course plates had just been cleared and Fred the waiter had left them with the desert menu.

Judy twiddled her straw around the top of her glass.  
"I know what I want for dessert." She said, her voice exciting him and making him forget about the blueberry cheesecake he had his heart set on moments ago.

"I'll charge this to the room then." He said with a look that set her nerves tingling.

"Fred, could you charge this to the lake view suite please." Nick called over to the waiter, his tail twitching as he fought to keep his excitement and eagerness under control.

"Of course, have a nice evening." Fred nodded, and the pair stood to leave the restaurant.

"Oh we will." Nick said under his breath, just loud enough for Judy to hear.

* * *

They were just crossing from the restaurant into the hotel lobby when a large red paw grabbed a first full of Judy's tail, she squeaked involuntarily and batted the paw away.

"Nickel Arse… stop that." She said, trying to make her voice stern but the look in his eyes made it waver. He took her paw and hurried her to the elevator which was luckily waiting for them. they just managed to slip in before the door slid shut. Before Judy could even select their floor, she found herself pinned against the side of the elevator with the wonderful taste of fox on her lips, she threw her paws around his head and dragged him deeper into the unexpected kiss, his low growl when she squeezed at the base of his ears sending vibrations through her whole body.  
Nick fumbled for the elevator buttons with his paw and they jerked into motion.

"Wow slick, where did that come from." Judy gasped as she took in the air her lungs were aching for once the kiss had been broken.

"I just couldn't wait for my dessert." Nick hooked his paws under her hips and lifted her, so she was at head level with him. Heat shot through her body as his claws dug into the fur of her should have been afraid but all she could think about was the magic those paws could do and as she teased his muzzle with phantom kisses, his claws dug deeper causing a raspy gasp to escape from her muzzle.

"Nick, s-s-stop." She cried weekly and very unconvincingly.  
the rumble from deep within his chest told her that he had no intention of stopping and she had never wanted him more than she did in that moment, a moment which was gone as quickly as it had arrived when the elevator doors slid open and Nick dropped her to her feet just as a family of armadillos stepped into view.

"Why do the best things always end?" Judy nudged her head into Nicks side, hinting at him to wrap his arm around her while they walked down the corridor almost stumbling into somebody else's bedroom door.

"Must have had a little bit more than I thought." Nick said steadying them both with a paw against the closest wall

"Good, I like you when you've had a drink." Judy smiled suggestively up at him.

"And why's that then." Nick tightened his hold on her and nuzzled her head, his tail flicking the air behind them.

Judy began to run her paw through his tail fur as they walked. "You're a lot less…" she paused to think of the right word. "restrained when your drunk."


	8. Chapter 8

"So, what are we doing today that's so… not relaxing?" Judy asked between mouthfuls of her breakfast cereal. The hotel served a buffet style breakfast of hot and cold food. Nick had unsurprisingly opted for a hot breakfast of bug sausages, eggs and turkey bacon. Judy on the other hand had gone for a bowl of cereal and dried fruits.

"Well there's this music festival in the next valley over. I thought we could set off early and walk there." Nick said before taking another bite of sausage. The only concert Judy had ever been too was the Gazelle one in Zootopia and she had absolutely loved it. She had to fight to stop her foot thumping excitedly under the table.

"What type of music festival?" Judy said with her grin almost splitting her face.

"Mostly tribute acts with a few local bands on the smaller stages." Nick was dipping his bug sausage in the yolk of his egg, almost causing Judy to gag.

"Ugh, how can you eat that." She said, her face scrunched up into a look of pure disgust.

"Fox..." Nick said, gesturing to himself with his free paw.

"I know but…" Judy was stopped in her tracks by a glob of yellow yolk dripping off Nicks sausage, she turned away and her ears fell over her face.  
"That's it, I don't think I can ever eat again."

Nick shook his head and carried on eating.  
"I thought you had gotten used to it now?" he asked.

"So did I. I can handle chicken and stuff, but that's just wrong." Judy made small circles with her paw in the direction of Nick's egg.

Seeing how uncomfortable Judy was, Nick grabbed a few quick bites of what was left on his plate and left the rest. "Come on Carrots, we will get something else later." He said

"Ok, Thanks Slick." Judy didn't hesitate in standing from the table, even the smell of the fried egg was enough to make her feel nauseous.

* * *

The pair had headed back up to the room to prepare for their walk to the festival. Not that they really had much to take. They hadn't planned on hiking on this holiday, but it seemed like a nice idea given the weather and the fact that there was a festival at the end of it. Thankfully Nick had a backpack stashed in the camper that they could take but they would have to stop at the shop opposite the hotel for food and drinks to take with them.

"Are you about ready Fluff?" Nick called into the bedroom.

"Yep" She chirped as she hopped out in front of him. Nick was quite surprised at what his bunny had decided to wear. he had expected her to have done the same as him and dress for the walk to the festival, but Judy had opted for short denim shorts that hugged her figure and a red top that only covered her chest. The white and grey fur of her well-toned stomach on show. Nicks eyes almost popped out of his head.

"Are you trying to give a fox a heart attack?" Nick asked. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him. Judy let out a surprised yelp, but how was he supposed to keep his paws off her if she was going to flaunt herself like that?

"I don't know what you mean Slick." She said smiling up at him, but she knew exactly what he meant, his fluffy tail swishing wildly behind him gave his excitement away.

"You look amazing Judy, where did you get that outfit? I've never seen you in anything like that before." Nick said still entrapped in her.

"Fru insisted that she buy it for me last time we went shopping together. It's not really my style so I've never thought to wear it but seeing as we are going to a festival! I thought I'd give it a go. Does it look OK, I don't look… trampy, do I?" Judy couldn't keep her embarrassment from showing through. She hated drawing attention to herself and she always felt self-conscious about her image. No matter how many times Nick told her how beautiful she was, or how often the other female officers asked her how she kept herself in such good shape she just always felt inadequate, not ugly as such she just wasn't happy with her image.

"Trampy! Judy Hopps you couldn't look trampy if you tried. You miss are the most beautiful mammal I have ever set my eyes on. "Nick said, with afore mentioned eyes firmly set on Judy's. He told her how good she looked at least once a day, and he meant it every time because to Nick she truly was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Judy had had a stern word with him on more than one occasion when she caught him completely lost in the way her fur rippled in the breeze or gazing mindlessly into her eyes from across the office.

"You old sap. Come on I want to get there as soon as we can." Judy said as she slithered out of his grip and skipped towards the door. How she managed to escape him whenever she wanted was a skill that frustrated Nick more than anything else, especially at work. Judy had a tendency to dive in head first which wasn't always the best option, but no matter how well Nick tried to hold her back she always seemed to break free.

"Alright, alright I'm coming." Nick followed behind, watching her tail twitching as she walked.

"Eyes up Wilde."

"I don't know what you're talking about Carrots?"

* * *

The shop in the lodge opposite the hotel seemed to stock everything you could possibly need for a hiking or biking expedition, but it was full of mammals who seemed to be just standing around doing nothing. Nick was slowly but surely getting closer to flipping out and his tail gave that away for anyone to see. It was like a pipe cleaner, standing straight and fully frizzed out, the tip flicking at the air. A squeeze on his paw told him that Judy had noticed and he had expected her to tell him to calm down but when he looked down at her with her ears stood to attention and her eyebrows pointed down, he could tell she was heading in the same direction.

"Let's just grab a sandwich and go." Nick huffed.

"yeah, the next mammal's tail that brushes my head is likely to have it gnawed off." Judy grumbled.

"I hope that doesn't include mine." Nick wafted his tail in her face but quickly whipped it away when she went to bite it.

"I'll meet you outside snappy." Nick said before he grabbed 2 prepacked sandwiches and 2 bottles of water out of a small chiller and pushed his way past a lion who was taking up far more room than he needed to be. He grabbed a bag of cookies from a shelf and squished his way to the register, the mammal on the register scanned the items and dropped them into a bag lazily.

"ten fifty." The mammal said groggily and without an ounce of enthusiasm. Normally Nick would give a cunning remark but instead he handed the cashier $11 and mumbled for him to keep the change before grabbing his bag and disappearing back into the crowd to find Judy.

Judy was waiting for him just outside of the shop, leaning on the railing looking down the valley towards the lake they could see form their room. She had one leg bent and her head resting on her arms which made her bum stick up just a little bit. Nick wrapped his arm around her from behind and rested his muzzle on her shoulder.

"I thought you'd took off without me." He quipped

"You're not supposed to leave children unattended." Judy replied, resting the side of her head against his.

"Well then, this big kit is sick of the sight of this shop so should we get going?" Nick chuckled. Judy had gotten a lot quicker witted lately, no doubt that was his own fault, but he liked that they could joke around with each other.

"Do you know the way?"

"Of course I know the way. Smart phones aren't called smart for nothing." Nick tapped at his pocket when he stepped away from her.

"you better hadn't get us lost Slick, you know what happened last time we followed your phone." Judy said with one eyebrow raised.

"That wasn't my fault, how was I supposed to know that there were two places called Terry's Tacos in the same district." Nick held a paw out and Judy took it, they headed down from the shop and followed one of the footpaths into the forest.

* * *

It was just before 12 and they had been walking for almost an hour when they came across a clearing and decided to have the sandwiches they had bought earlier. Nick plopped himself down on a convenient log at the side of the footpath and swung his bag off his shoulders.  
"what's it to be then? Lettuce and tomato with what looks like mayo? Or cheese and tomato on a seeded roll?" the slightly disgusted look on Nicks face when he looked at the first option made Judy's mind up, she would take the hit if it meant not having to spend the day with a hangry fox.

"I'll have the lettuce and tomato." She said. She tried to sound happy about it but failed miserably. Nick didn't argue though, she had the sad excuse of a sandwich thrust in front of her before she had even ``landed on the log.

"Thanks." She said sarcastically, her mouth turned down as she inspected the cardboard clad sandwich.

"I've enjoyed this morning, we should head out into the country more often. Just for a day away." Nick said, still rooting through his bag for the water bottles.

"Yeah we should, it's a nice change not having to dart between elephants and giraffes." Judy said.

"Too right, I almost lost my tail at least 3 times last week." Nick said with wide eyes.

"If you didn't flaunt it around so much you wouldn't have a problem." Judy cocked her head and looked up at him, waiting to hear his response.

"Judy Hopps, I do not flaunt my precious tail around. It simply has a mind of its own." Nick held his tail to his chest and stroked it as if he were comforting a kit, which was met with a dig in the shoulder.

"Put him down, he's mine." Judy said with a giggle as she snatched his tail away from him.

"Ow, that is attached you know. It's not just bunny tails that are sensitive." Nick pouted.

"Oh and don't I know about it." Judy rolled her eyes. If there was one thing Nick was good at it was letting her or anybody else that got within a 10-foot radius that his tail was indeed very sensitive. She had accidentally stood on it one morning getting out of bed and the shriek that came out of Nick was like nothing she had ever heard before. She went scampering out of the room fearing that some sort of demon had appeared in the bed next to her.

The pair tucked into their sandwiches both of them pulling faces at how bad they were and muttering something about how the filling only covered the middle of the bread. Judy's ears swivelled round at the sound of Nick ripping open the bag of cookies. He paused for a moment and pretended to read from the bag.

"Hmm, Not suitable for Rabbits." He said. Adding a squint as he strained to read the writing that wasn't there.

"Give me that." Judy snatched the bag out of his paw and plucked a cookie from it.  
"Tastes fine to me." She said with a mouth full of sweet goodness. Compared to the sandwiches the cookies were Michelin star.

"One day I might actually be being serious with that you know." Nick said taking back the bag.

"When have you ever been serious about anything."

"One day I'll surprise you. Just you wait Cottontail."

* * *

The entrance to the festival site was in the shape a deer's antlers carved out of 2 huge trees, the mammals on the gate were checking tickets and luckily there was a goat off to the side selling 'on the gate' day tickets and festival programmes. He was your stereotypical festival mammal, overgrown fur, striped poncho that was clearly homemade, slightly spaced out look in his eyes and the lingering scent of something herbal in the air around him.

"Hey man, you want in?" Said the goat.

"Err, yeah 2 day tickets please, and a programme." Nick rubbed his Neck nervously, silently praying that Judy wouldn't pick up on the scent and arrest every mammal that she came across. The fact that he could see the bulge of her badge in her pocket didn't do much to settle his nerves. He understood that they could potentially have to go on duty at any moment, but why she couldn't clock off even when they were on vacation baffled him. Nick was always alert and constantly watching what was going on around him, that was just a trait that you had to pick up quickly in their line of work, but unless a mammal was in danger he could clock off when not on duty.

"Ok dude, that'll be ten, twenty, twenty two fifty."

Nick handed the goat $25 and told him to keep the change at which he was overly grateful for and gave Nick 2 tokens for a drink at the bar before slapping a wrist band around his arm.

"And who's the second one for?"

"That's me." Judy said excitedly, hopping in front of the goat with her arm held up.

"Oh I see… here you go miss." The goat stuck the wrist band around Judy's arm and bid them farewell, telling them to have a good day. Nick had flipped open the programme to today's page and the line-up was rather impressive. They had tributes to some big bands on the main stage and lots of local groups and singers on the woodland and bar stages and they were just in time for the first act. A tribute band to the fur fighters, one of Nicks favourites and Just has he had expected almost every mammal there had crowded around the main stage to watch. They wandered over and found a spot just beside the sound booth about 50ft from the stage, they were on a handy little bump in the ground which was just high enough for Nick to see over the mammals in front of him, but Judy was still dwarfed by everyone around her.

"Want a lift fluff?" Nick said, grinning from ear to ear.

"What do you… ahhh" Judy started but Nick had already decided for her. He plucked her from her feet and ducked his head through her legs sitting her on his shoulders.

"Ah, ahh, aaahhhh, ears, Judy... EARS!"

In surprise and an effort to steady herself Judy grabbed anything that she could and that just happened to be Nicks pointed lugs sticking up above his head.

"I'm so sorry, are you Ok." She let go of his ears and planted a kiss on his head.

"It's ok Fluff, just don't do it again… please."

The lights on the stage dipped and the crowd burst into life, the cheers and shouts were almost deafening, but the atmosphere was electric. If this was just the start it was sure to be a good night. The slow build up to the song rang out through the crowd and the weight on Nicks shoulders started shifting. He looked up to see Judy dancing on his shoulders. She was completely at ease, not a care in the world and seeing her like that almost burst Nicks heart, he never wanted this day to end.


	9. Chapter 9

The sun was just disappearing behind the mountain that framed the main stage and the festival was in full swing. The Roaring Rocks, a tribute band to the Roaring Stones had just finished playing their set and the next band was setting up on stage.

"Hey Slick, if we don't get some food soon I'm gonna gnaw your ears off." Judy said from high on Nicks shoulders. She had spent most of the day up there and had only pulled on his ears twice which Nick thought was quite an achievement.

"We can't have that now can we. What do you fancy officer Fluff?" Nick chirped back up at her with a genuine smile spread across his muzzle. Judy looked around from her foxy perch like a periscope sticking up above the sea of mammals crowded around the main stage.

"Ooohhhh. Chip sticks." She shouted excitedly. If nick didn't have hold of her legs to steady her she would have thumped her way through his chest.

"What on earth is a chip stick?" Nick asked. Judy bent herself over so that she could look into Nick's eyes. She lingered there for a moment with her head upside down and her ears hanging in front of his face.

"You have never had a chip stick." Judy gasped sarcastically. Nick shook his head slowly without breaking eye contact, an excited Judy was one to be wary of, you could never predict what she might do next.

"Well what are we waiting for." Judy chirped as she sat bolt upright on Nicks shoulders  
"Onwards!" She commanded with a squeeze of her legs and a paw pointing in the direction of the food stall.

After a good few minutes of pushing and shoving, Nick had managed to free them from the crowd and they had joined the back of the line. Nick lifted Judy from his shoulders and plonked her down beside him.

"Are you having a good time Carrots?" He asked, holding out a paw for her to hold, but she didn't take it. Instead she swung her arm around his waist and rested against him.

"Nick this is the best day I've ever had." Judy said, smiling up at him. Nick planted a kiss smack in the middle of her forehead before cocking his head and just gazing into her eyes. Another cutesy moment to add to the already long list on this holiday.

"Well if it isn't the freaks." A voice called form behind them, closely followed by an outburst of laughter from a group of mammals. Nick and Judy's faces both said the same thing and they knew exactly who the voice belonged to. The buck from the spa had shown up to try and ruin another perfect evening.

"Come on Carrots, just ignore him." Nick whispered. He turned himself and Judy so that they had their backs facing the buck.

"You know its rude to ignore mammals. Not that I would expect anything better from a fox and a freak." The buck spat, Nick felt someone stand on the fur of his tail luckily missing any flesh, but he just ignored it and continued to look forward along the line. He squeezed Judy as a way of making sure she was OK and she responded with a quick squeeze back.

"Just wait till I spread the word in the Burrows about this…" the buck said smugly, Judy's ears pricked straight up, and a sly grin spread across the buck's face.  
"There will be riots." He hissed. Judy had frozen, the panic of the thought of her parents finding out about her and Nick before she had chance to tell them herself racing through her mind.

Nick picked up on her panic and tried to calm her down.  
"Don't worry, he doesn't know who we are." He whispered so only she could hear him. but that thought was shattered soon after.

"Wilde was it? And what I've heard you must be officer Hopps." The buck started but Judy cut him off, she spun on her heals and was staring him dead in the eyes, a glint of fear looking back at her.

"What do you want with us?" she growled.  
The Buck took a step towards her and Judy realised that a few mammals had taken their phones out to record what might happen.

"Ever since I heard about a bunny becoming a cop I have fancied myself a doe in uniform and look at…"

"Finish that sentence and I'll have you for harassment." Judy said without an ounce of humour in her voice. Nick saw the bucks face turn to one of pure anger and put himself between the two rabbits and just in time too, the buck lunged towards them but landed right in Nicks paws, he twisted his arms up behind the buck's back and slammed the rabbits face into the dirt.

"Look cottontail, what's your name?" Nick said demeaningly.

"Frank Wheaton, what's it to you anyway." He shot back.

"Well Franky, have you ever seen the ZPD jail?" Nick asked, twisting Franks arm higher when he started to struggle.

"Of-course I haven't but I bet you have you filthy pelt." Frank barked at Nick, his anger only making the hole he was digging himself bigger.

"Well let me tell you something, it isn't exactly a place for cute little bunnies like yourself." Nick said like he was talking to a child.

"I'll show you cute." Frank tried to wriggle free, but it was hopeless, Nick's training meant that he could hold down lions and tigers so keeping a rabbit under control was a walk in the park. Nick spotted the festival security approaching and released frank just as they parted the crowd. Frank swung a punch and caught Nick smack in the side of the muzzle. He didn't even flinch, he had expected the punch and his plan had come off perfectly. The rabbit's fist had connected with him just as the security guard pushed past the last line of mammals. One of the guards dragged Frank away and the other tried to make Nick go with him but luckily Judy pulled her badge out and explained that Nick was an officer and that Frank had attacked them.

Once the crowd had cleared and they had calmed down a bit Judy took Nicks paw and he looked down at her, her ears had dropped back, and tears threatened her eyes.  
"Nick what are we going to do? What if my parents find out?" she said through sniffles.

"Hey Judes…" Nick ran a paw down the back of her head. "We will video call them together in the morning and explain everything." He smiled at her with one ear dropped and the opposite eye brow raised, a look he knew would cheer her up a little.

"Stop it." She giggled, followed by a weak punch in the shoulder.

"That's two rabbits that have attacked me today." Nick joked.  
"Now try to forget about this and enjoy the rest of the night. That arse has already ruined one day and I'm not letting him spoil another." And that's exactly what they did. They both got their chip sticks which Nick had enjoyed so much he had went back for seconds before lifting Judy up onto his shoulders again and walking back over to the stage to catch the last band of the night.

As the music came to an end with Judy still riding high on her fox's shoulders a thought came into her mind.  
"Hey Slick? How are we getting back to the hotel?" She said, sounding a little worried.

"Oh god, the last bus was an hour ago." Nick gasped, although he couldn't see it, he could imagine the look on Judy's face.

"There is absolutely no way I am walking back along that track in the dark Nicholas." Judy said sternly. Nick couldn't keep a straight face and he almost dropped her with laughing.

"I wish I'd seen your face then. 'there is absolutely no way I am walking back'." Nick cackled.  
"Don't panic Fluff there's a shuttle bus into town that stops at the hotel."

"You dumb fox." Judy said, she made sure to tug on his ear a little bit to punish him before jumping down to the ground. her foot thumping impatiently while she waited for Nick to compose himself, but it only seemed to crack him up even more.

"It really wasn't that funny Nicholas." Judy said. she looked around and saw that all of the other mammals were filing out of the field.  
"Come on the bus is waiting." she said impatiently. Judy started stomping towards the exit with Nick trailing behind her.

* * *

Judy hadn't slept a wink through the night and she had spent the last our staring blankly at her phone wondering how her parents would take the news that her boyfriend wasn't a rabbit and to add to the shock he was a fox, albeit a rather handsome, strong, kind, funny, caring… "Come on Judy snap out of it." She said to herself. She found herself day dreaming about her fox more and more often lately but couldn't put her finger on why. She turned over and snuggled herself into his fur to try and take her mind of the first task of the day, Nick's arm instructively wrapped around her and pulled her closer.  
'that's why' she thought to herself, all of her worries temporarily slipping away.


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you sure you don't want a smooth-talking fox with you Fluff? You know how you clam up under pressure." Nick asked from the doorway to their hotel rooms roof terrace. Judy was leaning against the railing, staring off over the lake. Her mind working overtime on a how she was going to break the news that she was dating… not dating that's not the right word they've got more than that… that she was in a relationship with a mammal that her father owned tasers designed to protect them from.

Judy plodded over to him and plopped the top of her head into his chest.  
"Yes, I really do. I'll probably make a massive fool of myself, but… but I need to tell them first before they see us. I'll wave you out when I'm ready."

Nick took her face in both paws and used his thumbs to make her smile.  
"Big smiles Bunbun, everything will be OK." Nick said before returning to his chair by the window.

Judy flopped into her chair at the table on the terrace and after taking a deep breath to calm herself, she put on her best smile and hit video-call on Bonnie's phone number.

"Hey Mom." Judy said when her Mom finally answered the phone.

"Hey Stu, It's Judy." Bonnie called. Stu slid into shot on the bench beside Bonnie.

"Hey Jude the dude, how's it going?" He said playfully.

"Great, how are you guys?" Judy said with a little too much enthusiasm, Bonnie was already starting to realise something was up.

"Oh, you know how it is. Kit's running wild and your sister Amy is expecting her first litter soon." Bonnie said excitedly.

"Amy?" Judy said in surprise. Her sister was, in certain ways very similar to Judy. She was strong willed and didn't fit your typical bunny stereotypes. She had gone off to study medicine at some far flung university and Judy never imagined her having kits

"Amy" Stu confirmed "The father is… a hare." He said in almost a whisper.

"Is he? what's his name?" Judy asked. This answer could give her an idea of how they might react to her news.

"His names Frank, he's so small for a hare, to look at you would be forgiven for thinking he was actually a rabbit and he's so good with the kits." Bonnie said. She sounded so relieved when she Said that people though he was a rabbit.

Judy let out a sigh of relief at Bonnie's reaction to her sister being with a hare, but then what she was really saying sunk in and her ears dropped, her face must have given away what she was thinking as well because her father interrupted her thoughts.

"What's up Jude, you seem a little tense." He said.

This was it, she couldn't put it off any longer especially if she was right about her sister's partner  
"Mom… Dad… look, there's something that I need to tell you." Judy said nervously rubbing her paws together.

Nick had moved to the door frame again so he could hear what was going on. Looking at Judy he just wanted to wrap her up and make all of this go away. But this had to be done, especially with what he had planned.

"What is it sweetie?" Bonnie asked with concern in her voice.

"You can tell us anything." Stu added.

'yeah right' Judy thought to herself. the only mammal that she felt like she could truly tell anything to was the red fox standing in the doorway inspecting his own bicep. A flush of heat came over her face and her ears were burning. Judy shook it off and refocused.

"That boyfriend I told you about."

"yeah." Bonnie said slowly

"Well he… he isn't a rabbit." Judy shrunk into herself as she said it. It wasn't that she was ashamed about being with Nick, she wanted to tell the world, she was just terrified of how her family would react.

"Oh Judes, dating a hare is nothing to worry about." Bonnie said dismissively.

"Yeah we're practically the same anyway." Stu added.

"He's not a hare." Judy said a little too loudly.

"Ferret?" Stu asked.

"Eww No!" Judy said, shivering at the thought.

"Not a weasel." Bonnie asked in disgust.

"Mom! Dad!." Judy shouted in frustration, but the paw on her shoulder stopped her.

"He's a fox." Nick said calmly as he sat beside her.

Bonnie and Stu just stared into their phone for a moment before Bonnie broke the silence.

"N-Nick is your boyfriend?" She asked with a puzzled look in her eyes.

"Yes, me and Nick are together." Judy said confidently. she was ready for whatever they said, Nick being beside her made her feel stronger than ever and she would fight for what they had no matter what happened.

"Wait a minute so you two are…" Bonnie said, letting the news sink in.

"Yes mom." Judy said through gritted teeth. Nick squeezed her shoulder to calm her down and she grabbed his free paw with hers. Judy looked up at him and saw his eyes flick to meet hers, a loving smile spread across his muzzle causing her heart to flutter slightly. Judy almost forgot about what she was doing until her mother's voice brought her attention back to the phone.

"That's wonderful sweetheart. As long as you are happy, we are happy." She said. Judy couldn't quite tell if Bonnie was genuinely happy or if she was hiding how she really felt.

"I said that's wonderful… isn't it?" Bonnie said, shooting a menacing look at Stu. He just grunted and stood up. Before they knew it, he was gone and Bonnie flinched at the bang the door made when Stu slammed it shut behind him.

"let me talk to him, he'll come around." Bonnie said reassuringly, but it didn't work. Judy could feel tears welling in her eyes, she was on the verge of a mini breakdown and didn't dare to talk in fear of letting it all out.

"Mrs Hopps?" Nick said softly. "Is it OK if we call you back?"

"Of course it is Nick, take your time."

"Thanks." Nick ended the call and Judy instantly crawled into his lap. She wrapped her arm around his Neck and buried her face into it.

"Hey, hey, come on now, it could have been worse." Nick said as he held her tight.

"How could that have gone any worse?" Judy said, tears starting to matt both of their fur.

"Oh Carrots, your father will come around once we actually meet and your Mom seemed happy for us." Nick soothed.

Judy squeezed tighter and Nick had to hold back his own tears. Seeing Judy like this was hard, she was the one mammal that was exempt from his 'don't let them see that they get to you' rule, but he had to be strong for her.

"What if he doesn't?" Just almost whispered as if she didn't really want to hear the answer.

"He's your dad Judy, once he sees how happy we are he wouldn't take that away from you."

"As-if I'd let that happen anyway… Dumb fox." Judy said.

"I'm hurt, even in this situation you insult me." Nick feigned insult, being over-dramatic as usual.

"Shut up." Judy said jokingly, sniffing her sobs back in. she snuffled her muzzle into the fur on the side of his Neck knowing that it tickled him.

"Two can play at that game Fluff." Nick gently dug his claws into her waist instantly making her squirm and let out a little squeak.

"Nick! Stop it!" Judy squealed, still with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Not until I see a smile on that face."

"I'll bite you…" Judy said seriously.

"You wouldn't dare." Nick said, pretending to be shocked before digging his claws in again.

"OWW!." Nick pulled his head away and looked at Judy with his mouth hanging open.  
"You bit me… you actually bit me." He said in a voice so high pitched it didn't even sound like him. Judy sat up straight on his lap with her paws to her mouth and ears straight up, partly because she had bit him a little harder than she should have and partly to stop herself from laughing in his face. Nicks paw shot to the bite on his neck, it felt damp so he pulled it away and took a look.

"I'm bleeding." He said, his voice still incredibly high. "Savage bunny."  
Judy couldn't hold it back any longer, she burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry Slick but I did warn you." She said between fits of giggles.

"Yeah and I'll listen next time." Nick replied.

* * *

_The Hopps' Burrow…_

Bonnie put the phone down and walked out after her husband.

"Amy!" she said in surprise. Her daughter was the last person she expected to bump into.  
"have you seen your father?" She asked with an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, he went to the barn in a right mood. Wouldn't even speak to me." Amy said.

"Don't worry about it Chick, we've just had Judy on the phone. Now keep this between us, Judy and that fox she works with, Nick, they are together and she just told us, your father didn't take it too well." Bonnie said quietly.

"Oh I know, Frank told me… he spotted them when he was at that festival, told me not to say anything though." Amy said

"Oh, right, well then, still don't say anything." Bonnie walked away towards the barn shaking her head, it was going to be one of those days.

* * *

A few minutes had passed with Nick and Judy sitting silently on their terrace, both of them thinking about how best to handle the situation they found themselves in with Judy's father. Judy was the first one to break the silence.

"Nick?" She said sheepishly.

Nick looked at her but didn't say anything.

"Would it be ok if… I mean we don't have to… If you've got nothing big planned." Judy tripped over her words and Nick thought that she might go on forever.

"Spit it out then." He said with a raised eyebrow.

Judy sighed. "Can we go to my parents place early, like, when we check out of here today early?"

"of course, we can Fluff. We were just staying in the bus for the rest of the trip anyway." Nick said. His mind wandered, he needed to change his plans, but he would still make it work. He had planned to go to the coast next, but Bunny Burrow was in the opposite direction. They would have a few days between getting home and going back to work, maybe he could use them to visit the coast.

"Nick!" Judy shouted.

"Huh, what?"

"I wish you wouldn't do that I've been talking to you." Judy almost growled.

"Sorry Fluff, I was just thinking. what were you saying?" Nick said with his ears plastered to his head and big sad eyes.

"I was saying that I am going to call my Mom back and ask if that's ok, and, that I want you with me when I do." Judy said, she sounded nervous, but Nick couldn't understand why.

* * *

Bonnie walked into the barn and instantly spotted Stu with his head under the tractor clattering around trying to get it running.

"Ahem." Bonnie said, thumping her foot loudly to let him know she was there. Stu shuffled out from under the tractor and stared at her.

"well?" Bonnie said.

"Well what?" Stu shot back.

"what was that all about?"

"Our daughter, a rabbit is fraternising with a, with a fox." Stu shouted, his anger taking over.

"I'd say it's gone a bit past fraternising Stuart! Didn't you see them? She loves that mammal." Bonnie hissed.

"How, how can she love that thing, and it certain doesn't love her." Stuart spat adding extra filth when talking about Nick.

"I thought you'd changed Stuart Hopps, but I see you are still the speciesist, old fashioned buck you have always been. I expected better from you." Bonnie said, she disappeared from the barn before Stu could come with a response, which was probably for the best because he would end up saying something he regretted even more than what he had already said.

* * *

Nick picked Judy up and sat her in his lap planting a kiss on her head before she called her mother again.

"Remember Bunbun, big smiles." He whispered in her ear.

"Mom? What's wrong?" Judy asked as soon as her mother's face popped up it was obvious that she had been crying

"Oh nothing sweetie, you know how bad I am with onions." Bonnie said waving the question off.  
"I'm so sorry for how your father reacted… both of you." She added.

"Don't worry about it Mrs Hopps, we understand that it's a lot to take in." Nick said fearing that Judy might bite somebody's head off.

"No Nick, the way he acted was wrong and he is better than that." Bonnie insisted.

"Mom?" Judy interrupted. "Would you mind if we came tonight?" she asked out of nowhere and with a single sniff.

Bonnie didn't even hesitate in her answer. "Of course you can. I'll get a room made up for you both."

"Thanks Mom." Judy said with a smile. She felt a bit better about it all now that she was certain that at least her mother was on board. they just had to convince Stu now.


	11. Chapter 11

"Nick? Do you think this was a good idea?" Judy asked as her and Nick passed the sign telling them that they had entered Bunny Burrow. Judy had been very quiet for the whole journey to bunny burrow, the morning's conversation with her parents was clearly still playing on her mind.

"Do I think that coming to Bunny Burrow to meet your family, one of which wants to taser me and another's partner has already attacked me is a good idea?" Nick paused and pretended to think for a minute.  
"No, No I do not think that it is a good idea, but it has to be done so…"

"Don't let them see that they get to you." Judy grunted cutting Nick off."

"Exactly." Nick chirped.

* * *

another 2 hours and they were still driving down the same road through endless fields of wheat and vegetables.

"It's the next left." Judy said just as a sign for 'Hopps family farm' Came into view.

Nick took the corner and after about 50 yards the tarmac ended, and they were driving down another farm track. The road surface, if you could call it that, was made up of gravel and potholes and the road looked like it went on forever.

"Ahh, god Carrots, how long is this road." Nick said, wincing as the bus crashed through what must have been a small crater that tried to snap him in half.

"Only about 8 miles." Judy said. She sounded far to happy about that for Nick's liking.

"8 miles! I can't take this for 8 miles." Nick said

"Stop twining and get on with it you big wuss." Judy teased.

* * *

"Judy… Judy!" Nick prodded her to wake her up.  
'what is it with this bunny and falling asleep on farm tracks.' Nick thought to himself, Judy had managed to fall asleep on two of the roughest roads Nick had ever driven on.

"Yeah. What's up?" Judy groaned as she stretched herself into the waking world.

"I think we might be there." Nick said gesturing towards the gigantic farmhouse in front of them with his head. The Hopps farm house was huge in itself but add in the barn that had been converted into extra accommodation for the ever-expanding family and it was by far the biggest house Nick had ever seen. Judy looked around through a yawn and noticing that it was starting to get dark she asked what time it was.

"It is… 10 past 8." Nick said after a glance at the dashboard clock.

"Everyone will either be having supper or be getting the kits ready for bed. We would normally have a welcoming party." Judy said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"What now then?" Nick said nervously.

"Don't worry Slick we don't usually have fox for supper. I'll go find my Mom while you get our stuff out of the bus." Judy said before she dragged herself out of the bus and started towards the porch.

"Where should I put our stuff?" Nick called after her.

Judy threw her paws up without looking back and continued towards the house.

"Dumb bunny." Nick whispered under his breath.

"Heard that!... rabbit ears remember. Dumb fox!" Judy shot back, Nick chuckled to himself and slid out of the bus to start unloading their things.

Judy pushed open the front door of her family home and stepped into the hallway, she could hear the commotion of suppertime in the dining room and a few kits running around upstairs.  
Rather than getting mobbed in the dining room she decided to use the back door to the kitchen, her mother was most likely in there barking orders at her brothers and sisters.

"Judy!" Bonnie wrapped Judy in a hug before she knew what was going on.

"Hi Mom, I was expecting a welcoming party." Judy said.

"Well I thought it best to keep your early arrival quiet given your fathers mood. I didn't want anybody embarrassing themselves any more than they already have." Bonnie said, She let go of Judy and ushered her out of the kitchen before they got swamped by a bunny tsunami.

"Is Nick here?" Bonnie asked as they reached the front door.

"He's unloading the bus." Judy said.

"Oh good, well I'm sure you remember how to get to your old room? I'll finish of in the kitchen and meet up with you two when you're ready." Bonnie planted a quick kiss on Judy's forehead before disappearing back into the kitchen.

* * *

Judy opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. Nick was leaning against the bus with his head down staring at his phone. Judy leaned against the support for the porch roof and cleared her throat to get Nick's attention. He looked up to see her staring back at him with a cheeky look in her eyes.

"Come on Slick, we are staying in my room." She said suggestively.

"We don't have separate rooms?" Nick asked in surprise, his tail starting to wag gently behind him.

"Nope and it's got a nice big bed too." Judy said. She swung around and strutted back inside.

"Let's go explore it then." Nick said, picking up both their bags and jogging after her. They walked paw in paw through the house for what felt like an eternity until Judy finally stopped them outside of a door, two doors from the end of the 2nd floor corridor.

"This is it." She said. Judy let go of Nicks paw and pushed the door open springing into the room and quickly fussing with the pillows on the bed.

"Well what do you think?" She asked before Nick could say anything. Nick walked in and dropped his bag and the bottom of the bed before looking around the room. It was big for a fox's room never mind a bunny's

"It's huge." Nick said.

"Well it's a bedroom come study, come living room, come escape from the rest of the family." Judy said as she dropped onto the bed and lay with arms and legs spread out taking up as much room as possible. Nick sat on the edge of the bed beside her and ran his paw through his head fur.

"When am I meeting the Hoppseses then?" He asked.

"after supper, there is plenty of time yet." Judy said. Her paw was working its way up Nick's back playing with his shirt as it went. When it reached his shoulder Judy grabbed a paw-full of Nicks shirt and pulled him backwards onto the bed, kissing him passionately when he landed. Once the shock had worn off Nick found himself eagerly returning the kiss until they broke for air, as they did, he dragged his teeth gently along Judy's bottom lip sending a shiver right down her spine.

"That was a bit of a surprise." Nick said still staring dreamily into her gorgeous amethyst eyes.

"I… I've never kissed anyone in my room before." Judy said sheepishly.

Nick took a moment to register what she said.

"So, you hadn't ever kissed anyone until…"

Judy shook her head without breaking eye contact. A huge smile spread across Nick's face and he scooped her up into his arms.

"I never knew. I mean I know I was your first… mate, but I never imagined that I was your first kiss too." Nick squeezed Judy and she thought her eyes might pop out.

"Could you not tell? I was so nervous." Judy said.

"Honestly Carrots I was probably more nervous then you were." Nick said, his voice like silk.

"Why does it mean so much that you're my first kiss anyway? I wasn't yours." Judy asked

"It's just another milestone that we've shared together." Nick said happily.

"Oh Nicky." Judy said, she pushed away slightly and cupped his face with her paws. "Your soppy side is showing again." She teased.

"I'll show you soppy." Nick said. He licked right up the side of her face.

"Ahh Nicholas! You are disgusting!" Judy squeaked, just as they heard a couple of kits screaming in the corridor.

"Mom! There's a big fox eating Judy!" They shouted as they ran back down the corridor.


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm fairly certain that auntie Judy is not getting eaten by a…" Judy's sister Clair said to her sons as she walked towards the doorway to Judy's bedroom. She was stopped in her tracks when she spotted Nick sorting through his bag with his tail swishing behind him and Judy nowhere in sight. Clair was a brown bunny with white tipped ears, and she was slightly plump but no means fat.

"Hi Clair." Judy popped out into the doorway almost making Clair scream.

"Judy, you almost gave me a heart attack... Nobody said you were coming home, and who's this?" Clair said once she had recomposed herself.

"It wasn't exactly a planned visit. We were supposed to come on Thursday for the reunion on Friday, but you know. Things changed and we had to come sooner." Judy said, awkwardly fidgeting with her paws.

"Clair was it? I'm Nick" Nick extended a paw to Clair. Both bunnies were slightly shocked at how Nick had managed to sneak up on them. Clair froze for a moment her instinctual fear taking hold.

"Don't worry, he doesn't bite." Judy said sarcastically.

"Not unless you ask nicely." Nick said mischievously, followed by a quick squeeze of Judy's tail which earned him a punch in the arm.

"You're just mean." Nick said, rubbing the spot on his arm that was almost always bruised from little bunny paws. Clair was stood in the doorway with a confused look on her face, just staring at what was going on in front of her.

"Has Mom finished in the kitchen?" Judy asked in a voice that was a little higher than normal. She had realised what they were doing must have looked like and wanted to change the subject before Clair could ask any questions.

"Errr… yeah she's in the hallway, said something about Dad and his tractor." Clair said dismissively.  
"Come on kids, time for bed." Clair shuffled the two young rabbits down the corridor to their room, taking a second look at Nick over her shoulder as she walked away.

Nick shrugged and returned to emptying his bag into neat piles on Judy's bed whilst she started to brush his tail. He barely even noticed that she was doing it she did it that often, but Nick didn't mind, it helped both of them to relax. Once he was done with his bag, they headed back down the hallway to meet Bonnie and whoever else was waiting for them. Nick was praying that it was only her though, but he doubted that because word will surely have gotten around that they had arrived.

* * *

"who's in there?" Judy asked as they reached the door into the entrance hall.

Nick peeped through the window in the door. "Just your Mom and another Bunny." He said

"Oh thank god." Judy sighed, but her ears pricked up as a thought crossed her mind.  
"What about the dining hall?" She asked in a slightly terrified tone.

"I'll just use my x-ray vision and look through the wall shall I?" Nick said sarcastically.

"Har, Har." Judy said. "I know where my dad keeps his taser and you know I know how to use it."

"You wouldn't taser such a gentle fox, would you?" Nick gasped.

"Gentle? You tried to eat me, I've got witnesses." Judy teased, poking a finger into his chest.

"I only had a little taste." Nick said.

Judy Turned around to open the door but stopped with her paw on the handle when she felt Nicks breath in her ear.

"Besides, you don't normally complain." He whispered in her ear making sure he was close enough to brush past it when he pulled back.

Judy spun around, her ears had turned bright red and the sly grin spread across his muzzle infuriated her more than it should have. She pointed at him and tried to tell him off, but words wouldn't come so she just let a pathetic little growl out instead and turned back around.

The two entered the hallway and walked over to Bonnie and the other bunny, which turned out to be Judy's brother Jake.

"Judy, it's good to see you again. How are things going in the city? Have you found yourself a buck yet?" Jake said, holding his arms out for a hug. Jake and Judy were litter-mates and they had been extremely close growing up but hadn't spoken much since Judy left town. She didn't speak to any of her siblings very often, there were just too many of them.

"It's good to see you too Jake, and as it happens, I haven't found a buck." She said happily. She didn't know why but talking to Jake seemed 1000 times easier than talking to her parents.

"Oh? And why is that then?" Jake asked curious at her happy tone. He let go of her and looked at her questioningly.

"I've found myself a rather handsome tod." Judy said, wrapping her arm around Nicks waist.

"Always gotta be different don't you Judes." Jake said with a little chuckle. "Well aren't you gonna introduce us?"

"Erm sure, Jake… Nick, Nick… Jake." Judy said awkwardly.

"welcome to Bunny Burrow Nick. It's good to know that Judy's got someone to watch her back." Jake said, extending a paw to Nick who gladly shook it.

"Thanks Jake but I think it's Judy who's been watching my back."

All four of them jumped when the front door was thrown open and a group of three bucks walked in laughing about something.

"Then ald Johnny scopped yon Fred ower dyke an he landed square int dut, he dragged his sen oot and says. Hesta got a clout as clagged up t eyeballs." One of them said resulting in another fit of laughter from all three bucks.

Nick just looked at Judy, completely baffled by what the buck had said, he didn't understand a word of it.

"Don't worry Slick nobody understands the yackers around here." Judy said.

"So I'm not the only one who didn't get that then? Because I swear that was not English, and what on earth is a yacker?" Nick asked. He had heard more new words, if you can call them that, in the last 10 seconds than he had in the last 10 years.

Judy thought for a moment.  
"A yacker is a farm worker and I'm pretty sure that he said. Old Johnny threw Fred over the hedge and he landed right in the dirt, he dragged himself out and said, have you got a cloth I'm covered in mud." Judy said smugly, she was quite proud that she still vaguely understood the farm workers.

Nick shook his head, his mind was slightly blown by the fact that it was possible to get from the noise he heard come out of the buck to actual words.

"I'll see you guys around… Nick if you need anything let me know OK, not a lot of the rabbits round here are big fans of foxes." Jake said as he walked to the door Nick and Judy had just come through.

"Thanks again Jake, see you around." Nick said waving a paw at the Buck.

Bonnie stood smiling at them as if she was waiting to break some exciting news, but Judy had a feeling that she was not going to like it. "Is everything OK Mom?" She asked cautiously.

"Oh yes everything's fine dear, head on into the dining hall I'll be in in a minute." Bonnie chirped, she could hardly contain herself.

"Oh Mom, do we have to get paraded in front of the whole Burrow?" Judy moaned.

"Don't worry the place is empty, look the lights are off." Bonnie said still with a little too much excitement for Judy's liking.

Judy walked over to the dining hall doors slowly with Nick trailing about three foot behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw her mother holding her paws together with a big grin on her face. Whatever was on the other side of that door was sure to be either horrendously awkward, massively over the top or god forbit… both. Judy pushed open the door and stepped inside. She saw Nick's eyes widen and his jaw clench, his night vision would mean that he could see what was going on in there and by the look on his face she assumed the worst.

The lights suddenly all came on, temporally blinding Nick. Bright lights were bad enough in the day, but at night when he was used to the dark it felt like his retinas were burning out.

"Surprise." About 100 voices shouted. Judy almost died of embarrassment. The tables were set out in rows along the length of the room with a dance floor and a band at one end. Welcome home banners were strung from the ceiling and almost all her siblings that lived at home were there. She stepped back a single step, tripping over Nicks tail and causing him to yelp. Judy instantly jumped up realising that he could barely see, and to make it worse she had just trampled his tail. The whole room had fell silent again and everyone was stood staring at them.


	13. Chapter 13

Bonnie walked into the dining hall with a huge smile on her face, only for it to be wiped away instantly by the silence and a death stare from Judy.

"You knew about this?" Judy grumbled although she already knew the answer.

"Well… I might have had an idea, but…" Bonnie said shyly.

"A word." Judy growled cutting her mother off before stomping out of the room, leaving Nick alone with what felt like a thousand eyes staring at him.  
Judy stood with her foot thumping waiting for her mother to catch up.  
"You know how much I hate things like this! And how could you when nobody knows about me and Nick yet? I was going to tell them all but not like this!" She said, her ears burning with rage.

"I-I Just thought that it would be a good way to get it out in the open." Bonnie said, fidgeting with her paws

"Well it's certainly done that." Judy growled

"I'm sorry Judes, I was only trying to help you guys out." Bonnie sounded deflate. Nothing she did with or for Judy seemed to be right. She just couldn't understand how her daughter worked and it frustrated both of them.

"Look" Judy sighed, "I'm sorry Mom, I know you mean well but this." Judy waved her arms towards the dining hall. "This just isn't me, it's not how I do things. I hate being the centre of attention."

Bonnie seemed to understand where Judy was coming form and realised that she should have known better than to spring a surprise party on Judy but seeing as everyone was already here she thought that they might as well carry on with it.  
"Everyone's here now and Nick is still inside, so come back in and try to enjoy it. At least for a little while then you can do whatever you guys do, I've heard foxes are quite a handful." Bonnie said in a very embarrassing way.

"Moooommmm." Judy blushed, it seemed that she would be spending a lot of the next week redder than Nick from her extremely embarrassing parents. That is if the other one ever decides to show up.

When they went back into the party Nick was stood amongst a sea of rabbits, answering question after question. Some sensible ones from the older ones like; "Where are you from?" "How did you meet Judy?" just to list a few. Whilst the younger Bunnies were asking why he was so fluffy and why his tail was so long. One of them was even clinging to it.  
A young doe shouted up from the crowd. "Are you Judy's boyfriend?" Which was met with giggles from the kits and awkward looks from the older Rabbits.

"Well then… you will have to ask Judy about that." Nick said just as the door closed behind Bonnie and Judy. He looked around and saw Judy smiling back at him with Bonnie beside her. Judy was relieved that Nick had survived what must have been a landslide of young Bunnies never mind the fact that he was getting on well with most of her family.

"Auntie Judy is Nick your boyfriend?" said a chorus of young voices.

Judy couldn't help but laugh a little, she headed over to Nick and put her arm around him with her head resting against him. "Yes, yes he is."

Nick looked down at her and she rubbed her nose against his causing all of the kits to give a disgusted "eeewwwwww".

Nick gave her a quick squeeze and then the music started. The band which was made up of 2 of Judy's uncles and 2 of her cousins, all of them still living in the burrow started to play one of Nick's favourites. on a small pop up stage at one end of the dining hall. A smile spread across his face, if the night carried on like this, he was going to make sure they both enjoyed it.

* * *

It was almost midnight, both Nick and Judy were rather intoxicated when Nick heard the opening chords to another of his favourite songs and dragged Judy to the dancefloor. He didn't have to drag very hard, Judy was loving how relaxed he was and if he hadn't beaten her to it, it would be her dragging him because she knew that he knew every word to this song. It wasn't long before a small circle had formed around them, Nick singing in full voice was part of the reason but the way that they moved was the main factor, both of them were good dancers but Nick wouldn't have it said. He only did it either when they were alone or when he was very drunk, the latter being the case tonight. They managed to keep themselves in time but had the occasional stumble over a straw foot every now and then.

The song came to a close and Nick spun Judy into his arm both of them panting. The bunnies that had gathered around them clapped and cheered a little before going back to what they were doing. The band announced that they were going to have a break, and everyone cleared the dance floor to sit at the various tables around the room. Judy took Nick over to a table close to the door where Bonnie and some of Judy's closest aunties and uncles were sat.

"Hi everyone." Judy said as she pulled up two chairs one for her and one for Nick. Once she had said hello to the mammals, she hadn't met already she introduced everyone to Nick.

"Nick this is my uncle Ian, Mark and Grant. And auntie Julie, Kerry and Tracy." Each of them waving in turn. Everyone seemed very open to them and Judy assumed that her mother had had words with them, especially Mark. Judy fully expected him to be in camp taser Nick, but he stayed quiet.

"You two put on quite a show back there." Tracy said after they had all been talking for a while.  
"Well, it is one of Nicks favourite songs." Judy said laughing at a memory that sprung into her mind.  
"First time we danced was to this song, I couldn't keep up with him."

"You still can't keep up Carrots." Nick said with a cheeky grin.

"I'll have you know I am twice as fast as you." Judy shot back.

"Ok then since your so fast I'll race you to the drinks." Nick said with one eyebrow raised.

"No, don't be so silly Nick." Judy said unconvincingly.

"Fine then Just because you know I'll win." Nick said with a straight face.

"Come on then. 3-2-1-GO." Judy set off towards the table by the kitchen with the drinks on, leaving Nick sat at the table laughing at his own prank.

"I'll have another beer while you're there Fluff." Nick shouted over to her. The other buck rabbits at the table were laughing along with him while the does shook their heads at how immature males were.

"That's not fair." Judy shouted from the drinks table.

"It's called a hustle sweetheart." Nick chirped.

Judy was quite disappointed in herself for falling for another one of Nick's tricks, but it was one of the things she loved about him and it seemed to get a laugh from her uncles, which was a good thing. The more that Nick showed them all how good of a mammal he was the better. Still, she wasn't planning on letting him get away with it.

Judy popped the top off 2 bottles of beer and walked back over to the table handing one to Nick as she passed him. She went to sit beside him but as she did she tapped the base of her bottle on the top of Nicks causing it to fizz all over him. Nick just sighed, looked down at his wet lap and then looked disapprovingly at Judy.

"What? It's called a hustle sweetheart." Judy said, this time everyone at the table burst out laughing even Nick couldn't keep it in.

"I've trained you too well Carrots."


	14. Chapter 14

Judy woke in her room and reached for her phone to check the time, but she was tangled in a knot of red arms and legs. Looking at the window she decided that it wasn't light enough for them to have missed breakfast, so she relaxed back into Nick, smiling at the soft purr that came from him.

There was a loud knock on the bedroom door and whoever it was tried the door handle, thankfully Judy had remembered to lock it because Nick was wrapped around her and if she wasn't mistaken, he didn't have much in the way of clothes on.

"Judy?" The mammal behind the door said, almost shouting her name.

Her heart sank at the sound of her father's voice on the other side of the door. It wasn't that she didn't want to see him, more that she didn't want him to see her after she had just crawled out of bed with a fox…  
That would not go down well at all.

"Just a minute Dad." She called

"It's ok Judes, I'm just letting you know that breakfasts almost over. I'll see you in the dining hall when you're ready." Stu said before walking away down the corridor, his footsteps sounding heavier than Judy remembered.

"Nicky. Your gonna have to let me go." She said as she tried to free herself from his many limbs.  
Still sleeping he huffed and tightened his grip on her.

"oh, for god's sake Nick." Judy giggled.

After a few minutes of struggling she finally freed herself and caught sight of herself in the mirror.  
It was a good job that she had locked the door because Nick was apparently still casting… a lot. Judy was covered from head to toe in red, orange and white hairs. She sat back down on the edge of the bed and just looked at Nick wondering how he had managed to get himself into the sleeping position he was in, he looked like a car crash.

"Hey Slick." She said, giving his shoulder a gentle shake and to her surprise one of his eyes popped open. Waking Nick was normally a mammoth task and unless she had the help of an earthquake it took a good amount of time and effort.

"Morning." Nick groaned stretching his arms and legs up above him.  
"My head is killing me." He grunted.

"I'm not surprised." Judy said with a mischievous grin.

Nick seemed to react exactly how she had expected. His eyes went wide, and he looked a little worried.

"Why?" he asked slowly

"You can't remember?" Judy said.

"Can't remember what?" Nick asked, already bracing himself for the embarrassment that would surely follow Judy's answer.

"you seriously can't remember what you did?" Judy said to drag out his suffering a little longer.

Nick sat up and put his face in his paws.

"What did I do Carrots?" He asked grumpily.

"Alright, alright, grumble-fox. Nothing too bad, you were dancing with my auntie Tracy." Judy said, still grinning from ear to ear.

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"On the table." Judy continued, Nick pulled his head out of his paws and rested his muzzle on one of them with his eyes closed.

"Is that it?"

"Then you both fell off the table and you _might_ have landed on top of her… just a little." Judy said emphasising the "might"

"I didn't?" Nick asked with terror in his voice.

"You sure did Slick, but it's OK it was only me and…" Judy paused for a moment. "everybody else that saw it."

"Brilliant." Was all Nick could say, he flopped onto his back and shook his head. "Always have to make a good first impression don't I Carrots."

"It was the highlight of the Night and it was a perfect excuse to get you back here." She said in a way that had Nick's tail bristling  
"Now come on we are late for breakfast and I'm not putting up with a hungry, hungover fox all day."

* * *

After a heavy brushing, Nick and Judy had got themselves ready for breakfast in record time and were just reaching the dining room when Judy heard her sister Amy talking to someone in hushed whispers. Judy stopped and grabbed Nicks wrist to stop him. without saying a word she led him around the corner into one of the large living rooms at the front of the farmhouse.  
Amy was stood arms folded scowling at her fiancé who had his ears down and was looking at the floor. Judy felt a slight bit of satisfaction seeing Frank looking so defeated but that was quickly overtaken by the anger of how the buck had acted, knowing that he was to be married to her sister no less.

Nick gestured with his head for them to leave, but Judy shook her head and stood her ground.  
"Amy!" she said excitedly. "where were you last night?"

Amy quickly put a smile on and Franks mouth dropped open at the sight of them.  
"I'm sorry Judy, I had to rush away. This one managed to get himself arrested." Amy said with venom in her voice.

"Is that so?" Judy pretended to be surprised.

"Yeah, drunk and disorderly, or so he says. I've told him so many times to watch his behaviour, but does he listen?" Amy said seemingly exasperated by her future husband's actions. Frank looked horrified, he obviously hadn't told Amy what had gone on at the festival or the spa and quite frankly Judy didn't have the energy to argue just now, so she let it go. She would make sure to have words with her sister very, very soon.

"Males, what are they like." Judy said, the relief on Franks face almost made Nick laugh but he was keeping out of this as much as possible, so he stayed quiet for a change.

"Anyway, Dad's waiting to give me a grilling over breakfast. I'll catch you later Amy." Judy said holding her arms out for a hug. The Two doe's hugged and Judy whispered something In Amy's ear before they parted.

"What was that about?" Nick asked when they were out of ear shot.

"What do you mean?" Judy looked genuinely confused for a moment.

"Being all nicey nice with that creature." Nick clarified.

"Well I told Amy to meet me outside in an hour." Judy said with a sly look on her face.

"Not as daft as you look are you Fluff." Nick teased. Earning him a playfully grumpy look and a punch in his arm.

* * *

In the dining hall Judy showed Nick the situation with the food. It was set out like a buffet breakfast you might find at a hotel with cereals and grains at one end, breads and pastries in the middle and fruits and veg at the other end.

"I smell pancakes." Nick said quickly, his nose twitching in the air trying to pinpoint the source of the smell. He followed his nose to the end of the breakfast bar and around a corner sniffing all the way until he came face to face with a young buck flipping a pancake.  
"Told you I could smell pancakes." He said triumphantly.

"Ok but don't have too many." Judy said, she knew they wouldn't be doing much training over the next week and they certainly wouldn't be eating healthily, so she didn't want Nick pigging out on pancakes everyday either.

"I'll only have 5." He said dismissively.

"Five!" Judy squeaked. "You can have 3." She looked at him sternly with her hands on her hips.

"4 and it's a deal."

"Only if I get a treat later?" Judy replied cocking her head slightly.

"Deal, but… being with me is a treat in itself." Nick said before turning around and getting his pancakes, he topped them with a few different fruits, mainly blueberries, and added a little syrup for good measure. Judy got herself a bowl of cereal and walked over to sit with her mother, Nick joined them once he was ready.

"Morning Nicholas, did you have fun last night?" Bonnie chirped.

"What I can remember of it." Nick said. His head was still pounding, but he knew that there was no sympathy coming from Judy because his pain was 'self-inflicted' as she always said when he had been drinking.

"Well Tracy certainly enjoyed your company." Bonnie said sharing a funny look with Judy.

"So I've heard, sorry if I made a fool of myself." Nick said, his ears flattening to his head as if it made him invisible.

"Oh no, don't be silly everybody loved you and it seemed to break the ice with everyone, although I wouldn't mention much of it to Stu just yet." Bonnie said looking around to make sure her husband wasn't close by.

"I thought dad was meeting us here?" Judy asked curiously.

"He is sweetie, he just nipped out for a moment… speak of the devil here he comes."

Judy turned in her chair and saw her father walking into the dining hall.  
"Dad!" She called, obviously happy to see him she ran over and wrapped him in a hug which he eagerly returned.

"It's good to see you Judes, how're you doing?" Stu said, smiling at his daughter.

"better than ever." Judy replied "Where were you last night?"

"Oh, about that." Stu rubbed his neck with his paw awkwardly. "I-I had to run an errand for the farm, sorry." He faked a smile, but Judy had her own ideas about why he hadn't turned up.

"Come and sit with us, we need to talk." Judy said, she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, then they could all get on with their day. She had so much that she wanted Nick to see, there was the village, the rest of the farm, Gideon's bakery and she just had to show him her spot on the top of Burrows Pike. She wouldn't get it all done today of course, but she couldn't wait to get started.

Stu followed Judy to the table where Nick and Bonnie were laughing, no doubt at one of Nicks cheesy jokes, but the laughter stopped immediately when they approached.  
Nick stood almost knocking his chair over.

"Mr Hopps." He announced. "It's good to meet you." He held out his paw to shake Stu's but was left hanging.

"Nicholas." Stu said in a gruff voice. It was obvious that he was acknowledging Nick for Judy's sake and nothing else.

Judy took her seat beside Nick with Bonnie and Stu opposite them.

"Stu has got something to say to you _both_." Bonnie emphasised the both. She nudged Stu with her foot under the table but Nick and Judy both Picked up on it.

"yes." Stu said pausing to think about what he had to say.

Nick gently squeezed Judy's thigh with his paw to reassure her, but really it was more for his own relief.

"I apologise for the way I was on the phone yesterday morning." Stu said, not making eye contact with anybody. He was clearly very uncomfortable, and Nick could tell that the apology was by no means aimed at him.

"And…" Bonnie pressed Stu to continue.

"And, although I don't understand what you two..." Stu pulled a sort of disgusted face "You two, have going on, I am willing to try."

"And…" Bonnie pressed further.

Stu finally plucked up the courage to look at Nick.  
"And I want to ask, Nick if you would lend me a paw on the farm today? To give us chance to talk and to get to know each other better."

Nick felt a weight lift of his shoulders. Stu's words were obviously not his own, but he was willing to give Nick a chance, and he had to commend him for that. Nick went to speak to accept the offer but Judy beat him to it.

"Thanks dad." She said softly, placing a paw on her fathers on the table.  
"I'm sure Nick would be more than willing to help you around the farm."

"Yes, yes of course." Nick said, he was determined to make a good impression, and was willing to do anything to get Stu's approval.

"Great, well then meet me on the front porch after breakfast. Oh, I would put some less fancy clothes on if I were you as well." Stu said to Nick looking him over.


	15. Chapter 15

Nick had changed into the oldest clothes he had with him, a pair of jeans and an old buttoned shirt.  
He walked out of the front door of the farm house alone and slightly apprehensive about what Stu had in store for him. Judy was sat out on the porch waiting for Amy. She looked almost as scared as Nick felt. She wasn't sure how Amy would take the news about Frank, that's if she even believed it.

"Nicholas, over here." Stu called from the open door of a barn directly opposite the house. He sounded friendly enough, so Nick put a smile on and walked over.

"Mr Hopps, how can I help." Nick said as he bounced over. Stu looked up at him and Nick couldn't quite read his expression, which was odd and it didn't help how anxious Nick was feeling.

"Now Nicholas, all I need is for you to help lift these bales onto the trailer over there, then we are taking them to the village to sell." Stu said, pointing at the trailer parked between the barn and the house.  
'Great, in full view of everyone' Nick thought, no doubt he would have an audience.

"No problem, when are we getting started?" He asked.

"A couple of bucks will be helping us, once they arrive, we can crack on." Stu answered, he seemed to be a bit more at ease now. Probably because he was in his comfort zone, the buck seemed to be much more at home in the barn than he did… well, at home.

Once the bucks had arrived, they all mucked in and started to load the trailer with hay bales. It took two bunnies to carry one bale, but Nick could manage one on his own much to the surprise of the rabbits he was working with.

"Niver iver sin a mammal scop yan a these aboot on his tod." One of the farm-bucks said, it was the first time any of them had spoken to Nick and he didn't understand a word of it.

"Gonna have to ask you to say that again." Nick said, causing the two bucks to laugh a little.

"He said he's never seen anyone lift a bale on his own." Stu translated for Nick.

"We have to be able to take down large mammals, so we have to train hard." Nick said, pleased that they had finally broken the ice.

* * *

Judy was sat on a swing seat on the porch with Amy beside her, catching up on all the gossip while they watched Stu, Nick and the other 2 bucks working.

"Seems like Nick's fitting in well." Amy said.

"yeah, I just wish dad would stop looking at him like he's a criminal." Judy said. Just as she watched Nick remove his shirt to help keep himself cool. With her eyes firmly fixed on his rippling stomach her ears shot up at the sound of some of her cousins or sisters giggling, it was hard to keep track of what relation each bunny was when so many lived in the same house.

"Sounds like you're not the only one with hots for a fox." Amy said, although she was getting a good look for herself.

"If they can control him, they can have him." Judy joked.

"They can have Frank as a free gift too." Amy replied. Judy turned around to face her sister, she was going to bring up the incident with Frank but caught Amy looking at Nick.

"You're not having him." She said, pretending to be mad.

"please?" Amy said sarcastically. "I like a rugged looking male."

"Rugged looking?" Judy asked, she wouldn't describe nick as rugged, he was handsome and had '_defined features',_ but she wouldn't say rugged.

"His scar." Amy said like it was obvious, which it was now she had pointed it out.

"that's how we started dating." Judy said, her ears falling at the memory.

"how did it happen… i-if you don't mind me asking." Amy put a paw on Judy's shoulder, this was obviously a touchy subject.

* * *

The guys had finished loading the trailer. Nick had jumped into the truck with Stu and they were about to set off when Nick caught Stu giving him a curious look.

"Everything OK?" Nick asked.

"Uh, Yeah, yeah everything's fine." Stu said awkwardly avoiding eye contact. He turned the key and the truck rumbled into life, soon they were leaving the farm on the way to the market. After a bit of an awkward silence Stu finally asked the question that was bothering him. "I noticed the scar on your chest Nicholas, it doesn't look that old do you mind me asking how it happened?"

Nick was slightly taken aback by the question. He hadn't thought about his scar when he was working but figured that he would ask the same question if the shoe was on the other foot.

"It's a long story." Nick said trying to dodge the question. He knew that Judy had hidden the incident from her parents, and he didn't want to be the one to tell them about it.

"It's a long way to the market." Stu responded.  
Not seeing an easy way out Nick decided to tell him what had happened and deal with Judy's wrath later.

"It happened about a year ago." Nick began. "I hadn't been on the force long. We were on a drug raid and we were all lined up outside the door. Judy was first in line as always."

"Judy was first?" Stu gasped.

"she always is, we can't stop her." Nick replied, "And believe me, we have all tried." He chuckled.

"That sounds like Judy alright." Stu said without taking his eyes off the road.

"So anyway. I was second in line, behind Judy with Wolford on the other side of the door with the battering ram. It was supposed to be a surprise, but they knew we were coming." Nick stopped for a moment, he could feel his heart racing at the memory and the thought of what could have been.

* * *

"That sounds terrifying." Amy gasped.

"It gets worse" Judy said raising an eyebrow.  
"Wolford broke down the door and I rushed in with Nick right behind me, then… then I just froze." Judy hung her head, it was a difficult memory to relive but every time she talked about it, it got a little easier. "The mammal was aiming right at me and I just couldn't make myself move."

* * *

"I saw the gun pointed right at Judy, she had completely frozen and I couldn't let them shoot her." Nick said with his head hung and his ears all limp.

"What happened? My Judy didn't get hurt, did she?" Stu asked, his ears dropping and voice full of anticipation yet with a hint of sadness.

"I didn't have time to aim, but I had to do something… So, I threw myself in front of her, grabbing her on my way down. Next thing I knew I was in a hospital bed."

* * *

"The next thing I knew I hit the floor with Nick slumped on top of me. I pushed him to get him up, but he barely moved... That's when I noticed the blood on my paws." Judy said, tears forming in her eyes.

"He took a bullet for you?" Amy gasped, she was also staring to tear up.

"Nick saved my life, and he was willing to give his for me. He very nearly did."

"What happened next?" Amy asked quietly.

"I rolled him over and heard the rest of the team rush in to arrest the gang. I was holding his head in my arms. His eyes opened a little and he tried to smile when he saw me." Judy stopped to compose herself before she continued. "That's when he told me he loved me." She couldn't hold back any longer. "I thought he was dying." She sobbed into her sister's shoulder. But Amy wasn't much help, she was struggling to keep her own tears at bay.

"Judy, that's terrible, but it's such a sweet story. He must really love you." Amy said, trying to comfort Judy.

"He does." Judy sighed. She had managed to stop sobbing, but tears were still rolling down her cheeks.

* * *

The two males drove in silence for a couple of minutes, Stu was trying to process the story and Nick couldn't think of anything appropriate to say so he kept his mouth shut.

Stu finally broke the silence. "Nick, I'm sorry for the way I've behaved. I should know better and... thankyou."

"What for Mr Hopps?" Nick said. Instantly realising how stupid it sounded, but Stu didn't seem to notice, or he didn't care.

"You saved my daughter's life, Myself and Bonnie can never repay you for that and please call me Stu." Stu gave Nick a genuine smile. Nick didn't know what to say, for the first time he was actually speechless, but he had to say something.

"anyone would have done the same." He said, knowing full well that they wouldn't.

"but they didn't, you sacrificed yourself for Judy and not one Buck around here would do that, so if I can't accept your relationship what does that say about me?" Stu sounded genuinely disappointed with himself. Normally Nick would take this as a victory but somehow, he felt honoured rather than smug.

"What are you saying?" Nick said, his emotions were all over the place and he was struggling to process what Stu was saying.

"I'm saying that I think you and Judy make a good couple. I've seen the way she looks at you, that bunny loves you Nick and who am I to deny that." Stu was smiling again.

"Mr Hopps I-I mean Stu, you have no idea how much that means to me." Nick said, his heart racing once again, he was going to have a heart attack at this rate.

Stu thumped Nick on the back. "Shut up being soppy, we've got work to do." Stu said. Nick hadn't even realised they had arrived at the market.

'that went well' he thought to himself as he jumped out of the truck and straightened his shirt before starting to undo the ratchet straps holding the bales down.


	16. Chapter 16

Nick climbed out of Stu's Truck still laughing and Joking with him, the ride home had been much less awkward than on the way to the market. Nick's story along with the fact that they had completely sold out had put Stu in a very good mood.

"Nick my boy, want some coffee?" Stu asked from the bottom of the porch steps.

"Yeah, I'll be in in a minute, I just need to get something form the bus." Nick said.  
He headed towards the bus which was still parked in front of the Hopps house. He had thought about moving it, but that could wait. Nick opened the door and stepped inside, looking around he noticed that his guitar was on the bench seat behind the dining table. A quick sniff confirmed his thought, Judy had been practising and judging by the amount of guitar picks scattered around, it was not going well.

He picked up the guitar and rested it against the table before crouching in front of the bench and lifting the seat to open the storage compartment under it. Just as he lifted the lid, he felt something press into his back. Nick froze, he didn't dare to turn around

"Freeze… Fox." A deep voice said from behind him. The word Fox had so much venom behind it, it made Nicks skin crawl.  
He raised his paws slowly and the pressure in his back eased slightly. Nick took that as an opportunity.  
In one swift movement he spun around, grabbing the mammal's arm and twisting it up their back, before slamming them face down to the floor of the bus and jamming his knee into their back.

A screech of pain came from the mammal, but Nick ignored it, he was scanning the area for a weapon, but he couldn't see one… That's when he looked at who he had just taken down, he jumped off as quickly as he could and looked at them in shock.

"What the hell Judy?" he asked with horror all over his face. "Shit are you OK?" He helped her up and was about to hug her when he stopped himself, a little anger flashing into his eyes.

"I'm OK Nick… I probably deserved that." She groaned as she stood up, brushed herself off and rubbed her arm where Nick had grabbed it. She was sure that it would be bruised in the morning.

"Huh, ya think! What on earth were you playing at Judy?" Nick said in a slightly raised voice, not shouting but clearly frustrated.

"I don't know, it was just a prank." Judy said, she couldn't find a better explanation and she was just realising what a bad idea it was.

"Just a prank!" Nick said, but he stopped himself, he squeezed the bridge of his muzzle to calm himself down.

"Look Carrots, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you and I thought I had a gun pressed to my back. What did you expect to happen?" Nick sighed, the anger was wearing off now and he was concerned for his bunny. He is so much bigger than her and he hadn't held back when he slammed her down.

"No, I'm sorry. It was a stupid thing to do." Judy said sheepishly. Nick had never raised his voice at her before and she didn't like to see him so upset.

"Yeah it was. I could have really hurt you." Nick said with an undertone of sadness.

"But you didn't. I'm fine." Judy said. Nick went to say something, but Judy put a finger over his mouth to stop him.  
"and besides, getting arrested by you was kinda fun." Judy winked at him and spun away, shaking her tail as she walked.

"Do you really think that you can get out of this by shaking your tail Carrots?" Nick said disapprovingly.

Judy paused for a moment. "mmh hmm." She nodded.

"Well… You're absolutely right." Nick pounced towards her, rolling as they landed so that she would land on top of him. Judy tried to wriggle free until by nothing other than pure coincidence their lips brushed past each other. They instantly stopped play fighting and surrendered into each other.

The moment was broken by the sound of a knock on the open door. They both jumped up, tripping over themselves as they scrambled to their feet.

"Not interrupting, am I?" Amy asked from the bus doorway. "Anyway, Dad's wondering where you two have gotten two, he's waiting in the front lounge."

Amy skipped away before they could respond, leaving Nick and Judy both staring out of the bus at nothing.

"Best get going then." Nick said after a short silence.

"Not so fast Slick. what were you looking for under the seat?" Judy grabbed Nicks paw, stopping him from escaping.

"Nothing just some… Stuff, for the… thing. I'll take it you didn't get to talk to Amy about Frank then?"

"No I didn't, we got talking about… Hey! Don't you go changing the subject Nicholas. What is under that seat?" Judy put on her best grumpy face and after what felt like an eternity of silence she started towards the seat.

"It's err… a present… for you… for us being together for a whole year." Nick blurted out rather unconvincingly, but Judy bought it anyway.

"Niiickkk, we said no presents." Judy looked at him with her paws on her hips. "How am I supposed to get you something by tomorrow."

"You don't have to. Just take me to that waterfall you're always going on about." Nick smiled and held out his arm, inviting her to tuck herself under it as they walked out and towards the farmhouse.

* * *

Stu was sat in what was obviously his chair in the front lounge with his feet up on the coffee table in front of him, Bonnie was sat at the end of a three-seater sofa opposite him talking in hushed whispers. Not wanting to intrude on the conversation Nick and Judy hung back, however Stu must have noticed them because he hushed Bonnie and waved them over, gesturing to the sofa for them to sit down.

"What's this about." Judy said hesitantly. It looked suspiciously like a family meeting and she hated family meetings. They always ended up with somebody not speaking to somebody else for at least a week.

"Nothing serious sweetheart, just sit down." Bonnie patted the sofa beside her.

After some jostling and squeezing Nick and Judy managed to fit on the sofa beside each other. It might have been a three-seater for rabbits but with Nick on it was a bit of a squeeze.

"Right, I'm not gonna beat about the bush." Stu began in a serious tone. Judy felt an overwhelming sense of dread for what was to come.  
"I had serious concerns when you two told us that you were together, and I couldn't understand why or how, but… I see now that you are both very happy and… I want to apologise for being an old fool. I mean, I should have guessed if any of my daughters was going to date a fox it would have been Judy." Stu smiled and Judy grabbed Nicks paw.

"It's OK Dad we know it's a lot to take in, thanks for working through it." Judy said.

"No, it's not OK and I want to make up to you both. Especially you Nick, but I don't know where to start. So, I don't suppose you would like to join me and the rest of the Bucks down at the pub tonight? We're heading off in an hour or so." Stu was obviously nervous but clearly being genuine this time.

"I probably shouldn't we've got a busy day planned tomorrow." Nick said, looking to Judy.

"Don't be silly, go enjoy yourself. It will be good for you to get to know them better." Judy smiled.

"OK then, I'll come down for a few." Nick said, already feeling slightly apprehensive. He knew he wouldn't do anything stupid while he was out, but he had a bad habit of not knowing when to stop drinking. If he got too drunk and messed it up tomorrow, he would never forgive himself.

* * *

"I've just had a very awkward encounter with you mother." Nick said as he entered Judy's bedroom wrapped in a towel, still dripping form the shower. He closed the door behind him and there was no response from Judy.

Judy was lying face on her bed with her favourite short pyjamas on and her tail sticking into the air gently waving. Nick noticed that she had earphones in and was watching something on Pawflix. He thought about getting her back for her 'prank' earlier but decided that there was potential for a much better outcome. He sat down on the bed beside her and ran a paw slowly down the curve of her back. Judy tapped the screen, pausing whatever she was watching and pulled out her earphones. She rolled onto her side making Nicks paw move to her waist

"Hey Slick." Judy said as she stretched causing her top to ride up a little giving Nick a glimpse of her perfectly toned abs.

"You really are beautiful Carrots." Nick said, genuinely captivated by her. He leaned in to kiss her but Judy rolled onto her back, forcing Nick to follow her. A quiet, low growl escaped him as he looked down into her eyes.

"Nick, we don't have time." Judy said unconvincingly, especially since she was pulling him closer.

"I guess that I'll just have to be late then."

* * *

A knock on the door had Nick scrambling for his shirt, he was already half dressed but had gotten _distracted_ again.

"Nicholas, we are leaving soon." Stu called form behind the door, he was wise enough to know what had kept Nick and he decided that he didn't need to see that. The thought of it was bad enough.

"I'll be out in a minute." Nick replied buttoning up his shirt and trying to smooth out a crease. He flattened his fur as best as he could and gave himself a spray with scent mask. Before he left he gave Judy a quick peck, told her that he loved her and to make sure that she spoke to Amy about Frank. Judy grumbled to herself, but she knew that it had to be done.

* * *

The guys had been gone for about an hour and judging by the selfies Nick had sent the night was going well. Judy's phone pinged again just as she went to put it down, she opened it up smiling to herself only to burst out laughing at what she saw. It was selfie number 7 from Nick, and It was a picture of him looking rather scared with 2 Rabbit Doe's fondling his tail, quite obviously mesmerised by it. The message was quickly followed up by another that read "HELP! They haven't spoken to me and they won't stop stroking it!"

"What're you laughing at." Amy said as she walked into the lounge Judy had asked her to meet her in.

"Nick's tail has got some unwanted fans at the bar." Judy said shaking her head. she locked her phone and put it down on the table in front of her.

"Doesn't it bother you? I would go mad If Frank had does on him like that." Amy said, sitting down beside Judy on the sofa.

"Why would it bother me? I trust Nick, I know he would never do anything with anybody else." Judy said.

"You know what guys are like, they can't keep their paws to themselves." Amy said dismissively.

"Nick's not like that at all. The whole time I've known him, even long before we got together, he never even approached a female in a bar, or a club and he would always turn them down if they asked him to dance or something." Judy said defensively.

"OK, calm down Judy. All I'm saying is that I wouldn't be happy if Frank was in that situation." Amy said with a roll of her eyes.

"Actually… that's why I've asked you to meet me here." Judy sighed. She turned to face her sister, crossing her legs on the sofa.

Amy flopped back into her seat with a huge sigh. "what has he done now." She groaned.

Judy started at the very beginning, in the Spa at the hotel. She told her how frank had whistled at her across the pool, then came over and started harassing her. She left out the part where he grabbed her, she would save that for if things escalated. Judy moved on to how Frank had harassed them again at the festival and then told her that the real reason he had been arrested that night was that he had punched Nick in the face.

Amy just sat and took in everything Judy had to say. She was speechless but didn't see, as shocked as Judy had expected.

"What are you thinking sis?" Judy asked cautiously placing a paw on her sisters' shoulder.

Amy shrugged, and a tear came to her eye. "I always knew he had his faults but this, this is too much." Amy sat for a moment and Judy could see her sadness change into anger, like a wave washing over her.

"I mean of all my sisters he could have hit on, he goes for you… the freak of the family. I mean I could understand if it was Isabel or Abigail, they're slim and beautiful but you…" Amy's tone was Bitter and It cut Judy to the bone, she was one of her closest sisters and for her to say that hurt more than it would if it was anybody else.

Judy just sat there speechless, her ears stuck straight up and mouth open in shock.

"I need some space." Amy spat before lurching up and storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Judy flinched at the sound and it took her a minute to process what had just happened, she just hoped that nobody had overheard.


	17. Chapter 17

It was Nick's round and he was walking back form the bar with a tray of drinks for the group when he saw Frank storming towards him. if it was anybody else Nick would have just got out of the way and let them past, but not frank, especially not after a few drinks. Frank wasn't backing down either, he barged into Nick as he tried to get past, but Nick saw it coming and dipped his shoulder into it, sending Frank flat onto his back.

"Easy there big guy, you'll hurt yourself if you're not careful." Nick said in the most sarcastic way possible, accompanied by the slyest grin he could muster.

"I'll deal with you later." Frank growled at Nick as he climbed to his feet and stormed out of the pub. Nick shook his head and carried on with what he was doing. He sat the tray down on the table and everyone picked up their drinks.

"What was that all about?" Stu asked

"I have absolutely no idea, but from what I've seen of that mammal it can't be good." Nick said staring of into the distance, wondering if Judy had told Amy what Frank had done and more importantly what Frank was planning to do next.

The guys talked some more, sharing jokes and stories. About half an hour later Nick's glass was empty, and he decided that he should call it a night. More for worrying what Frank was doing than anything else.

"Another drink Nick?" asked one of the bucks.

"No thanks, I should be heading back to the farm." Nick said, sliding his empty glass to the middle of the table.

"Oh come on Nick, another drink won't hurt." Stu said, patting Nick on the back.

"No, no, I really must go. I'll make it up next time." Nick said, standing up from the table.

"Too right you will." Someone said, getting a laugh form everyone. Nick waved as he left and started the short walk up to the farm.

* * *

Back in the farmhouse Bonnie and Judy were sat in the lounge sipping on some wine Bonnie had poured for them. She hadn't heard what had gone on, but she had seen Amy slam the door and storm off, so she had come in to see what had gone on.

Judy told her everything about frank and what Amy had said to her, that's when Bonnie had popped out the wine because Judy was obviously upset.

"Don't listen to her sweetheart, she's just angry." Bonnie soothed.

"I know mum, I just thought that out of all of us Amy understood, she had big dreams, she didn't fit in, but I guess she's just like the rest." Judy sighed, she wasn't crying but she wasn't far off.

They heard the front door open and then instantly slam shut. Bonnie looked to Judy questioningly and Judy shrugged her shoulders as if to say, 'I dunno'. They let it go, the farmhouse was busy at all times of the day and with the guys at the pub it was most likely one of them coming home but they heard voices talking in the hall and stayed quiet to see who it was. they couldn't make out what was being said but Judy knew who it was, she would recognise that voice anywhere.

"It's Nick." She said softly, she could feel her tears welling up again. She needed to bury herself in his chest and just forget everything that had gone on today.

Nick pushed the door open and stepped inside, he looked totally enraged which was unlike him. Nick was normally able to keep his cool, but something had seriously pissed him off. He calmed down instantly when he saw how upset Judy looked.

"Hey Fluff, what's wrong." He said as he walked to the sofa and sat down, wrapping his arms and tail around her. She buried herself into his neck fur, the security of having him there was all it took for her to let it out, she nuzzled into him, shivering as his fur soaked up her tears.

"Oh sweetheart, what's happened I hate seeing you like this." Nick cooed, stroking her ears against the back of her head. Bonnie had heavy eyes herself, this fox clearly cared for her daughter more than anything, and she was actually quite jealous of how he seemed to treat her.

"I'm just being stupid." Judy said.

"Well yeah, but why are you upset?" Nick joked, earning him a smile from Judy and the obligatory punch in the arm.

"Bonnie you saw that right? This bunny is savage." Nick said, pretending to be shocked.

"Shut up you." Judy said, digging him in the arm again.

"Look at her, I'm a battered male." Nick said, putting the back of his paw to his forehead and flopping back into the sofa. Judy chuckled at him, wiping her eyes in his fur. He knew just how to cheer her up, or at least make her forget about what was upsetting her.

"Sorry about that Nick." Judy said.

"No need to apologise Fluff, that's what I'm here for… the being here for you part not the punchbag part." Nick said as he made little circles at himself with his finger.

"I told Amy about Frank." Judy said flatly.

"OK?" Nick asked hesitantly.

"She didn't take the news well. Things were said, and she stormed off." Judy told him.

"So Amy did this?" Nick asked to clear things up. Judy nodded slowly, not sure what Nick's reaction would be. He was clearly very angry, the twitch in his upper lip gave that away, but he got himself under control quickly. "I'm sure whatever she said was only said because she was angry… Not that that makes it right." Nick said, his rational side making a brief appearance.

Judy peeled herself off Nick and sat back on the sofa.

"I know, I just thought that out of all my siblings she understood, but it seems that only you do." Judy smiled up at him, reminding herself why she loved him so much, he understood her and accepted her for who she was.

"What were you slamming about for anyway." She said, changing the subject before the waterworks started up again. A little bit of anger came back up in Nicks eyes, nobody else would have picked up on it, but Judy had worked out how to read him over the last 12 months.

"Someone's slashed the tyres on the bus. All four of them!" Nick said with a hint of a growl.

"Really? Who would…" Judy started but one look from Nick told her exactly who it was.

"Frank." She said, more to confirm for herself than anybody else.

"I don't care who it was, for now I just need to go to bed. Oh, but before that… Bonnie could I have a word." Nick said, turning his head and smiling at Bonnie.

"I'll head off now then, see you soon Slick." Judy walked out of the room with Nick watching her until she was out of sight with a stupid grin on his face.

* * *

Nick strutted into the bedroom looking rather pleased with himself.

"What's got you so happy." Judy asked. She was lying on her side on the bed, with her head resting on her arm.

"I've Just seen A certain hare in the corridor." Nick said smugly.

"What did you do?" Judy groaned.

"Me! Nothing." Nick said dramatically. Judy raised her eyebrows, she didn't have to say anything else.

"OK, I might have asked him if he saw anybody mess with the bus and he did. Turns out it was him and this…" Nick wafted a small wad of money in front of his face, is how he intends to fix his mistake. Oh and your sister jacked him in."

"what she's dumped him?" Judy sounded surprised.

"Yeah, what did you expect her to do?" Nick said, equally as surprised at her reaction.

"I don't know, she's about to have kids." Judy said.

"Trust me they are better off without him." Nick said, shocking Judy. He usually held the belief that every child should know who their dad is, but this time he thought that they would be better off not knowing at all.

"It's not like there's a lack of amazing father figures around this place anyway." Nick said as he made his way over to the bed.

"You're right, I'm glad he's gone." Judy sighed as Nick approached.

"Yeah things are looking up, oh and Amy said she feels terrible about what she said, and she wants to make it up to you. So... she is taking us both somewhere for breakfast tomorrow." Nick started to get ready for bed, laying his clothes out on a chair as he always did.

"Are you looking forward to tomorrow Fluff." Nick asked, referring to the trip to the waterfall they had quickly planned earlier. He crawled into bed beside Judy and held his arm up for her tuck herself under.

"I'm looking forward to now." She said, snuggling up into his chest fur.


	18. Chapter 18

Judy was rudely awakened by a knock on the bedroom door, she opened her eyes to a wall of russet fur and poked her head out from the fox that she was wrapped in.

Once she had checked that they were both covered she called for whoever it was to come in.  
The door opened, and Amy walked in. She flicked the light on as she passed the switch.  
The sudden brightness stung Judy's eyes for a moment. When she managed to refocus, she could see Amy holding back an aww.

"Don't say it." Judy grumbled.

"I'm a bunny, I'm allowed to say it." Amy said, she dropped her head and quietly added. "And you two are pretty cute."

Judy looked down to her lap and scratched the top of nicks head, he was still asleep and still wrapped around her like a massive blanket. Nick let out a soft purr at her touch, even Judy couldn't hold back the aww this time.

"What did you want this early anyway." Judy said to Amy with a little bitterness in her tone. Although she knew it was all said in anger, Judy still hadn't forgiven Amy for what she had said last night.

"I-I need to apologise for last night. I was out of order and you were only looking out for me, I feel terrible for saying what I did, and I know how much it must have hurt you."

"Amy." Judy said cutting off her sister. "What you said last night really did hurt… especially coming from you."

Amy's ears dropped when she heard that.

"I really am sorry Judes, you know how much you mean to me. I can't fall out with you because of that…thing." Amy scrunched up her face, the thought of her once fiancé now made her fur crawl.

"I know." Judy sighed. "Sister hug?" She said, she wasn't going to just forget what Amy had said but she was right, there was no need for them to fall out over it.

"Sounds good to me." Amy said, smiling at Judy.

"I need to get out from this thing first." Judy said gesturing at Nick. Just as she did it, his tail flicked up and hit her in the face.

"Oi." She said, gently tapping him on the nose.  
Still sleeping Nick rucked up his lips, showing his teeth.  
"Grumpy." Judy squeaked, a little shocked. She tapped him again slightly harder, Nick blew out of his nose and shook his head.

"That is attached to me you know, and what time is it." He said groggily, slowly opening his eyes. Before he got an answer, he tilted his head up and gently nibbled at Judy's neck.

"What are you doing sitting up like that anyway." He said quietly, still nibbling at her.

"Nick!" Judy squeaked and tried to push his muzzle away.

He nuzzled at the side of Judy's neck and blew out a little making her shiver.

"Nick!" Judy squeaked again, pushing his head away, but she couldn't, he snapped his teeth playfully just below her ear.

"Nick, stop it, Amy's here." Judy growled into his ear. Nick's eyes went wide in horror. He slowly turned his head to see Judy's sister giggling to herself in the chair by the window.

"Don't mind me." Amy said, holding her paws up. Nick was sure that his blush could be seen through his fur. Luckily for him Amy changed the subject.

"Now you're both… up…" Amy said suggestively. Nick felt like crawling into a hole never to be seen again. "there's another reason I'm here."

Judy tilted her head at Amy, she was a little confused.

"I was supposed to be taking you for breakfast at 9:00 but I suppose it will have to be brunch now." Amy said, looking at her watch.

"What time is it?" Nick asked for the second time from his imaginary hole.

"Oh it's only… 10:30" Amy was looking straight at Judy when she said it, knowing that she prided herself on being on time. the whole time Judy and Amy were at school together Judy was only late for class once and she forced herself to stay back to make the time up.  
A smug smile crept onto Nick's face and he directed it right at Judy. The look on her face was even better than he had expected, he intended to seize this opportunity with both paws.

"Judith Hopps" He began.  
"Judith Hopps has actually slept in for something. Oh, and people were waiting for her, depending on her getting up but nooooooo. The lazy bunny couldn't get her fluffy little tail out of bed." Nick said with the smuggest of grins on his face.  
Judy was fighting to hold back a response. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction, but she knew full well that her face was giving everything away.

"Aww, now there's no need to get all upset. Stop that little nose twitching." Nick cooed. Gently flicking Judy's nose. Her eyes shot to his and her face scrunched up. She tried to say something clever but ended up stuttering and just telling him to shut up.

"Amy. We will be ready in a minute, we'll meet you in the front lounge." Judy said in an over nice tone, before batting Nick off her and standing up.

* * *

Nick and Judy walked into the entrance hall of the farmhouse to see Amy standing by the door waiting for them.

"That was quick. I expected you two to be a while." Amy said with a smug look on her face.

"it doesn't take him long." Judy said mockingly. Nick tried to think of a comeback, but she had beaten him, he just shook his head and opened the door, holding it for Judy and Amy as they left giggling to themselves.

* * *

Amy's car was a tiny, blue, bunny sized hatchback that was definitely never designed to have a fox crammed in the back seats.

"How much further have we got to go? I'm becoming part of the car." Nick said grumpily as his spine was bent further in half by another pothole.

"It's not far now, we're just coming into town." Amy confirmed.

"good, I hope you've got a crowbar in the back to pop me out with." Nick grumbled.

The car passed a street sign that read 'ACORN AVENUE'. Judy repeated it to herself a few times in her head. The name rang a bell, but she couldn't pin down what it was. The neon sign that they passed next 'The Rabid Raccoon.' Was all it took to tell Judy where they were going, her ears popped up straight and she turned to Amy.

"Are we going where I think we are?" Judy asked excitedly.

"Yep." Amy replied

"Oh my god, I haven't been here since, well since we were kits." Judy could hardly contain herself as they pulled into the car park for Aunt Maggie's diner.

The diner was exactly the same as it was last time Judy had been here, the white walls with blue paint around the windows still needed redoing and the huge sign above the door was starting to look a little dull after years in the sun, but all the memories came flooding back.

"The childhood haunt of the Hoppseseses." Nick piped up from the back, he was craning his neck to get a look at what he saw as a rundown diner.

"It's a wonder they didn't charge us rent." Amy said as she switched the ignition off and climbed out of the car.

* * *

The inside of the diner was surprisingly clean and bright but was still very dated, red leather booths with white tables ran around the edge with a bar at the back and a few tables scattered around the middle.

The three took a seat in a booth by a window. Nick slid in first and Judy sat beside him, leaning against him and shuffling in so that his arm draped around her shoulders. Amy took the seat opposite Judy, it took her a while to get comfortable and it was no wonder, she looked about ready to burst and she was, the due date for her first littler was only a couple of days away.

Judy and Amy didn't even have to look at the menu, they knew exactly what they wanted… honey roast vegetables with Maggie's secret sauce. Nick on the other hand decided to play it safe with a bug burger and wedges. A waitress came over to take the order and after talking with Amy for a minute she disappeared into the kitchen.

A few minutes later another rabbit arrived with the food and drinks.

"If it isn't Judy Hopps." The old doe said as she placed the plates of veggies and bug burger down.

"Aunt Maggie, it's good to see you." Judy replied happily.

"Do you mind if I…" Maggie gestured at the space in the bench seat beside Amy who slid over to allow Maggie room to sit down.

"Thanks chick." Maggie said, giving Amy's shoulder a squeeze as she sat beside her.  
"Who's the lucky buck then?"

Amy's ears dropped behind her and she lowered her gaze hoping that Judy would rescue her.

"That's a bit of a raw subject." Judy said to Maggie with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, I see, I'm sorry hon." Maggie soothed but quickly changed the subject to Judy's romantic life.  
"What about you Judy have you found yourself a handsome buck to settle down with in the big city?"

"Not exactly." Judy replied, shifting even closer to Nick to try and help the old rabbit along.

"What do you mean not exactly." Maggie said with a puzzled look.

Judy looked up at Nick "He's... He's more of a tod."


	19. Chapter 19

Maggie had taken a few moments to process the new information, she had been sat staring at Nick and Judy with her mouth moving as if she was trying to say something, but no sound came out.

Judy sighed in annoyance, she was tired of explaining herself to other mammals.  
"Maggie, it's OK. I know it's not nor... not the done thing around here, but We're both very happy and to me that's all that matters." Judy said with an almost apologetic smile and a squeeze of Nick's arm.

Maggie clearly wasn't expecting that as she looked a little shocked, but then again what else could be expected of her. The old doe composed herself and with a deep breath she smiled at Judy.  
"that's great hon, It's good to see that you have finally let someone in." Maggie said, sounding a little unsure.

Nick dropped his fork to his plate with a clatter, he knew Judy had never had a boyfriend before, but she had told him it was because nobody wanted to date the rabbit cop freak. Even-though he knew it was nothing he couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't let anybody get close to her and even stranger was why she had let him in. This led him on to wondering why he had let Judy in. He could think of so many reasons why he did, but there were other people with the same traits, just none of them were Judy.

"Nick, is everything alright?" Judy asked. All 3 rabbits were staring right at him, making him feel about an inch tall. Nick didn't know what had came over him, but he could hear his breathing speed up, his ears went slick to the side of his head and he could feel his tail start to fizz.

"Yeah, sorry, I just dropped my fork." Nick said awkwardly as he tried to calm himself with help from Judy's paw resting gently on his thigh however it didn't seem to help much, Nick could still hear his own breathing and he could feel his heart beat in his temples.

"you see Judy, it's just not safe for us bunnies to date a fox, they are all so unpredictable." Maggie said waving her paw at Nick like he was just an object. The calming paw that Nick was so thankful for moments earlier was now perilously close to tearing Nick's skin. Judy's grip tightened a little more when she went to speak, to which Nick let out a little yelp.

"How dare you! You don't know what it feels like to be _unsafe_, never mind what it feels like to have somebody that makes you feel safe no matter what." Judy scolded Maggie in a way that had become all too familiar since they arrived in bunny burrow and neither Nick or Judy liked it.

It was Nick's turn to lend a calming paw this time, although he was still feeling weird, He placed his paw over Judy's that was clenched onto his thigh and squeezed it a little.

"Let's all take a step back and just settle down a little." Nick soothed in an attempt to bring the situation down.

"Why? Will you bite me if I don't?" Maggie said childishly, it would probably be taken as a joke any other time but not now. Everyone was shocked by how immature the sweet old doe was being and Judy was already far too close to the edge to put up with snide little comments.

"That's it, we're leaving." She hissed angrily before storming towards the door. Nick mouthed to Amy to wait for him and he jogged after Judy.

"What about your cheque?" Maggie said in a triumphant tone.

"My cheque!" Judy said sarcastically "You can shove the cheque right up your..."

"Alright that's enough." Nick picked Judy up and carried her outside kicking and screaming. He didn't put her down until they reached the car where he left her standing with her foot thumping the ground as she stood seething, but she didn't know who she was most angry at, Maggie for being such an old bigot, Nick for actually carrying her out of the place, or herself for losing control once again.

Nick walked back inside to help Amy who was struggling to her feet as he got there. He threw a 20 on the table and walked Amy out to the car with her arm around his middle. Judy was still stood in a small dust cloud that her thumping foot had created but that stopped as soon as she saw Nick and Amy coming towards her.

"Amy, are you OK? I'm so sorry, do you want me to drive home?" Judy said quickly before going to help Amy into the car, only for her to wave Judy off.

"I'm fine, just a bit too much excitement for one day. I'll take you up on that offer of driving though." Amy said with a slightly annoyed tone. Once everyone was in the car Judy put her head back on the headrest and deflated slightly.

"What happened back there?" she asked rhetorically.

"somebody got a little sassy." Nick said from the back seat.

"how do you do it Nick?" Judy asked in a defeated manor.

"how do I do what sweetheart?" He replied softly, stroking her cheek from behind.

"Just let things go over your head and keep your cool all the time."

"years of practice. A few beatings from when I was talking when I should have been listening, and now... A few wonderful memories to lock onto when things are looking bad." A smile crept across his muzzle and he relaxed into the back seat wondering why he couldn't have just done that in the diner.

"I guess I need more practice then." Judy's voice brought him back into focus and he chuckled to himself at how feisty his bunny could be.

"I'd say. Even I've never told an old doe to shove her cheque up her…"

"NOT, my, best moment." Judy cut in, her ears burning with embarrassment. They left the car park and started the drive back to the farm. Just as they were leaving town Judy caught Amy flinching.

"Is everything OK?" Judy asked. Nick picked up on the worry in her voice and his attention was immediately on Amy.

"I'll be fine, I've just been having pains since this morning." Amy said with another wince. "they are getting quite bad now though."

The look on Nicks face was one of pure terror. They had drove right through bunny burrow and he hadn't even seen a sign for a hospital, never mind the actual building and he certainly was not qualified to deliver a rabbit litter. Judy swung the car around and sped off down the street, she was heading for the medical centre. It was nothing compared to the tri burrows general hospital, but it would have to do.

* * *

Nick's claws were digging into the grab handle above the rear door and the back of Amy's seat as Judy raced around town towards the medical clinic. Normally driving at speed didn't bother him, but they were normally in the police cruiser not a lunchbox on wheels.

The small car squealed into the car park of the clinic where Nick finally found the courage to blink, he went to ask Judy what to do next but she was already sprinting towards the front doors of the clinic.

"Ahhh, Nick, help me out of here!" Amy screamed in pain. Nick immediately jumped out of the car and opened the passenger door to help Amy out. He leaned into the car so that she could wrap her arms around his neck and then scooped her up. Nick started towards the hospital just as Judy and a female tapir came running out with a wheelchair.

"Here, sit her down we will take it from here. Luckily for you Amy's midwife just happens to be here." The tapir said between deep breaths. Judy Went to follow her in but Nicks paw stopped her.

"leave them to it. We'll just get in the way, and somebody will need to meet your Mom and Dad." Nick said while walking towards the clinic, holding Judy's trembling paw.

"I need to phone them. Where's my phone?" Judy said still panicking. She searched every pocket but couldn't find it.

"Calm down Fluff, I'll phone them, besides the state you're in you will only worry them."

The pair sat down in the waiting room and Nick pulled out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts until he found Bonnie's number. The phone barely rang once before she picked up.

"Hi Nicholas, is everything alright."

"Hi Bonnie, everything's OK, well more or less OK. We are at the clinic with Amy. No need to panic though, the kits are coming a little early but she's with the midwife and there's a doctor on the way just in case." Nick tried to keep his voice as calm as possible despite the fact that he was secretly terrified.

"Oh my god, oh my god... STU THE KITS ARE COMING! Thank you Nick, we'll be there as soon as we can." Bonnie hung up the phone before anything else could be said.

"Your mother is a very excitable bunny, I see where you get it from." Nick joked to try and calm Judy who was now pacing up and down in front of him. She didn't reply, in fact she didn't even hear him. Judy's mind was shooting around all over the place, Would Amy be OK? Would all the kits be OK? How would they tell Frank? Would they even bother telling him? How would he react?

"Judy!" Nicks voice finally cut through her thoughts and she looked almost shocked to hear him. "Come and sit down. You'll wear a hole in the floor" He patted his thigh inviting her to sit on it, which she happily did.

"Don't worry yourself. Amy and the Kits will be fine, and that arse of a buck probably won't even remember she's pregnant." Nick said as if he had read her mind.

"I know, you know what I'm like though." Judy sighed, finally relaxing a little. 

* * *

The longest hour ever passed without Bonnie or Stu turning up. The nurse came out of the room with a small bundle of blankets and offered it to Judy.

"Me? I, I can't" Judy stuttered, she had held kits hundreds of times but never anew-born and she was strangely terrified.

"It's OK, take her, everyone's healthy but Mom is out for the count, we'll clean everyone up and then you can come in." The nurse said with a wide smile at the tiny bundle.

Judy took the baby and held her to her chest, a tear crept into the corner of her eye when she saw her little face and pink ears sticking out of the blanket. She sat back down on Nicks knee with her and felt his arm wrap around her middle. Nicks other paw gently moved the blanket a little so that he could see her tiny face better.

"She's just perfect." Nick whispered with a slight nuzzle on the top of Judy's head giving her the warmest, fuzziest feeling inside that she had ever felt. Without thinking she snuggled herself into him and wished that the moment would never end. Obviously, it was interrupted by the door flinging open and a very worried Stuart Hopps bursting in

"What's happened, is everything OK?" Stu said so fast that they could barely understand him.

"Everyone's fine Dad." Judy said, standing up to meet them. "This little bundle of cuteness is your granddaughter." Judy passed the kit to Stu who took her like a seasoned professional.

"The nurse is going to call us in when the rest of them are ready, but you guys go in we'll wait out here." Judy was smiling from ear to ear, the joy on her parents faces making her forget about the rest of the day.

Just as Stu was showing Bonnie their newest family member the nurse called them in and with an excited skip Bonnie and Stu disappeared into the makeshift delivery room.

"Do you think we will ever have a normal day?" Judy said as she returned to Nicks lap.

"I'm starting to forget what one is." Nick chuckled. "Even with everything that's happened today, I still think it's been one of the best."

Judy looked at Nick with curiosity all over her face. He answered without her even asking why.

"Well for starters, you actually slept in for something." The obligatory punch in the arm stopped him momentarily. "Then you told an old lady to shove it. And after everything else nobody got hurt, even with Judith Hamilton here racing through the streets of bunny burrow." Nick was going to say something else, but he stopped himself and hoped that Judy hadn't picked up on it, but Judy being Judy she knew there was more. Mainly because for once Nick was actually being quiet.

"What is it Slick? I know there's more." She said happily.

Nick sighed and rubbed his muzzle with the paw that wasn't around his bunny.

"It's nothing sweetheart. I'm just all emotional." He said obviously trying to pass it off, but Judy was having none of it.

"Go on, you can tell me." She stoked his cheek and made him look into her eyes.

Nick dropped his gaze to the floor and with another sigh he quietly said. "When the nurse handed her to you and you sat with me, for a moment it just felt like we had our own little family. I'm not saying I want kits, I know that we can't have that, but it just felt right." Nick said, finishing with a soft smile at Judy.

"Come here you big softie." Judy wrapped herself around him and squeezed him tight. "I felt it too you know." She whispered in his ear before closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder.


	20. Chapter 20

It was still only early evening on the world's longest day and Nick and Judy were getting ready for their date night. The plan had changed since the morning, they were supposed to be going up to the waterfalls near the farm, but Nick had spotted a nice restaurant in town that advertised itself as 'the place for every mammal, every time'. After asking Judy about it she said that she had never been in but had always wanted to try it. That was it decided, with everything that had already happened today, a sit-down meal sounded a lot more appealing than a walk through the woods anyway.

"Do you think this will be OK?" Judy asked from beside her dressing table. Nick turned around to take a look and he was utterly gobsmacked at how beautiful she looked. Judy's dress was long, but it hugged her figure perfectly, the material floated from the waist down and a slit in it allowed better movement for her and a teasing glimpse of her leg for Nick. It had another two cut outs, one on each side, they came around just far enough to show a little white fur from her stomach. The whole dress was covered in red sequins that were still sparkling in the fading light.

"Wow Judy, you are beautiful." Nick always made sure to say "you are" rather than "you look" because he felt that Judy was beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside, it didn't matter to him if she picked up on the difference it was just something he did.

Nick was currently wearing suit pants with no shirt, tie or anything else but he still walked over to her and placed his paws on the exposed fur at Judy's sides just above her waist.

"is it not a bit much?" Judy asked nervously.

"It's perfect sweetheart." Nick couldn't resist kissing her deeply, it was a release that both of them needed and they very nearly got carried away with themselves. They probably would have if it wasn't for a knock on that damned bedroom door.

"this, this is why we will never live with family." Nick said with his lips about an inch away from hers making her laugh quietly

"Come in." He called once he had removed himself from her.

"It's only me", Bonnie said as she opened the door carrying a white shirt that almost drowned her. Judy had asked her to iron it for Nick after much protest from the fox, he claimed that it was unfair to make Bonnie iron it, but he knew that she would make a much better job at it than he ever could.

"Here you are Nick, freshly ironed, in fact it's still warm." Bonnie handed Nick the hanger with the shirt on before catching Judy in the corner of her eye.

"Oh Judith, you look amazing." Bonnie cooed. She trotted over and straightened the odd stray hair out on Judy before standing back and taking in her daughter. Judy could feel her ears burning and turned around to finish herself off before she turned redder than Nick.

"I'll leave you two to it." Bonnie said, taking one last look before she left.

* * *

Judy was planning to drive to town, but Nick insisted on a taxi so that they could both have a glass of wine and hopefully some fizz if things went to plan. They were sat out on the farmhouse porch waiting for the taxi to arrive when Judy realised how ridiculous they must have looked sitting in a sequin dress and a full suit on the porch of a farmhouse surrounded by mud and fertiliser with the rumble of a tractor engine as the background noise. Nick checked his watch for the 100th time, 4:43 the taxi was supposed to be picking them up at quarter to 5 so it shouldn't be long. As if by magic a set of headlights swung into the farmyard, Nick slipped his paw into the inside pocket of his jacket, his heart stopping for a moment when he brushed against the little box he had snuck in there while Judy was distracted by Bonnie.

"I think that's our lift slick." Judy said, swishing her way to her feet, she hadn't been so excited for a date night in a long time, but she didn't know why. Perhaps it was because it was in her home town or maybe it was because It was one year to the day since their first date.

"After you." Nick held the back door of the car open for Judy. Much to his relief this car was much bigger than Amy's lunchbox on wheels, so there was plenty of room for both of them.

"where are we going tonight?" The driver asked. He was a wolf but had black and brown markings mixed in with his grey fur.

"The wild olive, Oxford street." Nick answered. Getting a wide-eyed look in the rear-view mirror from the wolf.

"What's the occasion?" the driver asked.

All Nick could think about was how this point in the conversation was usually when things went south. The moments silence must have answered the question for him because the wolf laughed a little before he set off.

"It's ok, I get it. You know it's surprising how common it is. Being a taxi driver you see what most mammals don't, but I have to say, I've never seen a fox and a rabbit before."

Nick sighed with relief. "You're just about the only one around here with that opinion."

* * *

The car pulled up right outside the restaurant.

"That's $6.50 please." The wolf turned to face the pair in the back. Nick handed over $10 and told the driver to keep the change. He was in a very generous mood on this holiday.

"Have a nice evening." The wolf said as they both hopped out of the car. Nick had saved the drivers number to use again, having a friendly taxi drivers number was always helpful especially in a town like this.

Judy walked around the back of the car and hooked arms with Nick for the short walk to the front door which Nick held open for her. He straightened up his tie and red handkerchief he had found in his luggage before walking over to a buck rabbit that was the host.

"Hello sir and welcome to The Wild Olive. Do you have a reservation?" The Buck said respectfully but a slight twitch in his nose told Nick that he wasn't entirely comfortable.

"Yes, Wilde, table for two." Nick said with a smile but making sure not to show his teeth, he felt like he must have looked so stupid, but he was committed now.

"Wilde, Wilde... ah there we are. Your table is ready if you'd like to follow me." Nick raised his eyebrows at Judy. They were used to eating in diners and fast food joints, occasionally they would go up market for a date night, but this was by far the poshest place they had eaten in a long time.

The host seated them and after taking a drinks order and handing out some menus he disappeared back to the front desk. Most of the dishes were vegetarian with a couple of chicken options but Nick wasn't having meat tonight, in fact he would be lucky to have anything at all. The names of the dishes didn't give much away, if it wasn't for the description under each one, he would just have to pick one and hope for the best.

Their waiter came over with the wine they had ordered and poured them a glass each, leaving the bottle on ice at the table. Although they had hardly been apart for the last week or two, Nick and Judy still found more than enough to chat and laugh about. The evening was going perfectly: they had ordered their very fancy starters and mains, neither of them knowing quite what to expect but nonetheless all of the food was delicious.

They were Just finishing their mains when Nick reached around to get his suit jacket off the back of the chair to fight off a nip in the air, while straightening out the jacket he felt the little box in the inside pocket and his relaxed mood went straight out the window. His ears must have given him away again because Judy gave him a puzzled look.

"My wallet's gone." Nick said flatly and quietly.

"You're joking." Judy said equally flatly and quietly, but a smile crept its way to Nicks face and Judy's look turned to a serious one.

"Stop it." She huffed before cracking a smile herself.

For the remainder of the meal Nick's heart was almost jumping out of his chest. The atmosphere between them never changed from the happy, carefree one they had had for the rest of the night, but Nick was more nervous now than he had ever been. Every time her amethyst eyes met his he got butterflies and the feeling he got when she laughed or brushed her ear with her paw was like nothing he had ever felt before.

'Pull yourself together Nick, for god's sake.' He told himself in his head, but before he had chance to do that the waiter came and cleared the table. He felt almost weightless when he placed his paw on top of Judy's in the centre of the table, the slow blink and genuine smile that she gave him very nearly melted him into a foxy puddle.

"Car- Judy, I'm so thankful that you followed this shifty looking fox into that ice-cream parlour, and that you hustled me into helping you, although I did let you." He paused for a second, he wanted to get this right. 'there's no backing out now' his brain told him.

"Because if you hadn't, I wouldn't be sitting here now, with you. And there is nothing else I would rather be doing." Nick said, smiling at her and squeezing her paw. Judy flicked a single tear away from her eye in an attempt to stop the little makeup she was wearing from running.

"So, Judith Laverne Hopps." Nick pulled his paw away and slipped it into his jacket, before carefully slipping off the chair and onto one knee beside Judy. Both of Judy's paws shot up to cover her mouth and the glisten from a tear rolled down her cheek fur.

Nick flicked open the ring box and at the same time said. "Will you make me the happiest fox in the world? Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Oh Nick yes!" Judy squeaked in happiness. Her arms went around him, and they shared the most tender, loving kiss. A round of applause spread through the room as the rest of the guests and staff realised what was happening. The kiss ended with them resting their foreheads together and gazing helplessly into each other's eyes. "I love you." They both said at exactly the same time. Giggling to themselves they parted and Judy held out her paw for Nick to slip the ring on. It was a perfect fit.

"It's perfect." Judy said, admiring the ring. It was slim and discrete but had a band two bands of tiny diamonds entwined around an amethyst and an emerald. It was unusual but that's the reason Nick had it made, everything about them was unusual

"How did you know the size?"

"I just know these things." Nick said, holding Judy's paw in both of his.

The rest of the meal was just as perfect, they got a bottle of champagne and an amazing cheesecake with congratulations handwritten in a chocolate sauce on top of it, all on the house. Nick paid the cheque with a little resistance from Judy as usual. For the whole taxi ride home Judy sat snuggled under Nicks arm, smiling stupidly at her ring. They pulled up outside the farmhouse to the whole family crammed on and around the porch with a homemade congratulations banner strung up with fairy lights hanging from the porch roof.

Normally Judy would have been embarrassed but she was so excited to show off her ring she leapt out of the car and ran to show it off to Bonnie and Stu, which of course met with the waterworks from Stu. Nick caught up once he had paid the driver. Stu placed a paw on Nicks arm and swallowed a lump in his throat. "Come here son." He said before dragging Nick down into a manly hug, complete with loud back pats and a straightening of coats once it was done.

"Where's Amy?" Judy asked. She couldn't see her in the crowd, but she didn't expect to.

"She's waiting in the lounge with the little ones. Go in and see her." Judy skipped off to find her sister, leaving Nick outside.

"Nicholas, I'm so happy for you both, and I don't think there's a better matched pair of mammals alive." Bonnie said, holding her future son in law's paw.

"Thanks Bonnie, it really does mean a lot."

Bonnie nodded and with a pat on the arm she told him. "You go and find your fiance." The biggest grin spread across Nick's muzzle, the fact that Judy had said yes just fully sinking in.


End file.
